Universities are higher learning institutions in which studies for bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate degrees, and academic research is conducted. A university provides the essential facilities for teaching, research, and analysis, and is mandated to grant academic degrees.
Kenya has over 60 universities offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs. About 31 of these are public universities while the rest are privately owned.
For an institution to be classified as a university, it has to attain the minimum requirements for certification and approval by the Commission for University Education. The commission issues charters to officiate new institutions marked as universities.
Non-Chartered universities are issued with Interim Letters of operation pending approval by the Commission.
Here are the Top Ten universities in Kenya.
1. The University of Nairobi. (UON)
The University of Nairobi (UON) has maintained its position as the top university in the country once again. In a recent ranking by Webometrics, the University ranked at position one in Kenya, Position thirteen (13) in the continent, and position 1052 globally.
UON was founded in 1956 during the colonial era under the name Royal Technical College. It has since evolved through the years while changing its name and upgrading its status continually.
In 1964, the school was renamed University College Nairobi as a constituent college of the East African University, the present-day Makerere University which is located in Uganda.
In 1970, the East African University was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in Uganda, the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
The UON was therefore born and granted full university status as the first public university in Kenya, a glory that it has maintained till today.
Read The University Of Nairobi Bank Account Numbers.
The university’s main campus is located in Nairobi City, along University way with several other campuses and constituent colleges in various regions of the country.
It takes the merit as the only university with its main campus located within the Nairobi CBD. The institution currently holds a student population of over 98, 713 with over 1,300 foreign students.
The current University Vice-Chancellor is Prof. Stephen Kiama.
2. Kenyatta University. (KU)
Kenyatta University (KU) features as the second-ranked University in Kenya. The University’s main campus is located on a 1,000-acre piece of land in Kahawa, Nairobi, along Thika Super Highway.
KU was founded in 1970 as a constituent college of the University of Nairobi by the name Kenyatta College. The college used to house the faculty of education, and students taking Bachelor of Education were placed to study at the campus.
Following an act of parliament in 1985, the mighty KU was granted full university status, becoming the third public university in Kenya after UoN and Moi university.
Currently, the institution holds a capacity of over 70,000 students, making it the second-largest university in the student population countrywide. In terms of infrastructure, Kenyatta University features the most developed facilities.
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