The Open University, the online university which was awarded a charter by President William Ruto in August 2023, has announced that it has admitted 3,300 students from a pool of 10,000 sign-ups.
The university, which is still in its infancy, is already making progress in Kenya’s higher education sector.
"We are one of the public chartered universities enjoying all benefits and also embracing all the challenges that are there at higher education," said Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Elijah Omwenga.
"We are not even a year old and we already have 10,000 students who have signed up. Signing up means expressing an interest; in an online university, you express an interest, then you put in all your certificates and your CV, and we select from those who have completed that process."
Speaking at Spice FM, Prof Omwenga explained that out of the 3,300 students admitted, about 1,400 have enrolled and are actively participating in their courses.
"Enrolment means you are in class and are going through the various activities of the course," explained Professor Omwenga.
"These 1,400 students are separated into semester one and semester two within this short period. We are not even a year old, and we have admitted two cohorts of students. We are calling them semesters, but really it is a flexible mode of courting students, and now we have a new student with fresh students."
One of the key principles of the Open University is affordability.
"The fee structure is such that it is pegged on what is existing already, and it is about one-third of the fees charged in other universities," noted Professor Omwenga.
"For example, a Bachelor of Data Science, a very popular course, has attracted the largest number of students, and we charge Ksh105,000 per year, which can be paid in instalments. The reason why we are affordable is our infrastructure; we are not investing in physical infrastructure, which is generally expensive. In the future, that is going to reduce because we will be getting more students in their thousands."
The National Assembly approved establishing the Open University of Kenya on July 6, 2023, as requested by the Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu.
President William Ruto unveiled the Open University of Kenya (OUK) in Konza Technopolis in Machakos county on Thursday, August 3, 2023.
"The Open University of Kenya sets a unique path to affordable, inclusive and equitable education. This demand-driven education supports the surging demand for quality higher education and promises to churn out qualified and competent graduates who will power our Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda," Ruto stated.
Ruto emphasised his administration's commitment to delivering competitive, industry-driven education that complements the government's economic and academic transformation agenda.
