The State Department for Higher Education and Research, on Tuesday, February 14, announced eight courses which would be offered at The Open University of Kenya (OUK).
Students who enrol at the institution would access the courses online at affordable rates. According to the Ministry of Education, the Open University of Kenya would incorporate technology to make learning flexible.
Additionally, the graduates will lead in academia, research, and leadership and will provide the expertise required in the public and private sectors for socio-economic transformation nationally, regionally and globally.
"The University will draw on flexible entry criteria as well as a variety of cutting-edge technologies to expand access to university education cost-effectively," The Ministry of Education stated.
"The Open University of Kenya will offer a number of academic programmes progressively to produce graduates who are critical thinkers, practical-oriented, creative and innovative," it added.
During its first phase of establishment, the Open University of Kenya would offer both degree and diploma courses in different technical areas.
The degree courses listed include a Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, a Bachelor of Technology Education and a Bachelor of Science in Business and Entrepreneurship.
Others include a Bachelor of Data Science, a Bachelor of Economics and Statistics, and a Bachelor of Science in Agri-technology and Food Systems.
The institution will also offer lower courses including Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Accountability and Postgraduate Diploma in Learning Design and Technology.
To enable President William Ruto to open the university, the Ministry of Education, led by Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, invited a consultancy exercise.
The consultant is set to help the government articulate programme learning outcomes, and identify and sequence courses within the various programme architectures; where individuals have expertise.
Besides revealing the programme's outcome, the government argued that it would help experts research and create original content for individual courses.
It would also help them incorporate various delivery support materials such as case studies, simulations, webinars, videos, practical exercises, journal articles and other references.
Ruto had planned to set up the Open University in his 100 days in power. Despite missing the deadline, plans are at an advanced stage.
