The 11th Graduation Ceremony was held today with pomp and colour. It is the first physical graduation ceremony since Covid-19 hit the country early 2020. The University has been holding virtual graduation ceremonies as part of the many measures aimed at reducing the spread of the dreaded virus.
More than 2500 graduands were conferred with various degrees and awarded diplomas and certificates.
Dr. Esther Muoria, The Principal Secretary, State Department for Technical, Vocational Education, represented the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education, Hon. Ezekiel Machogu. She read the speech for the Cabinet Secretary who challenged the members of staff to reciprocate Government development initiatives by doubling their efforts in serving students and the public even better.
The CS recalled that on 8th December 2022, when His Excellency President William Ruto visited the institution, he accompany him and had the opportunity to witness some of TU-K’s engineering workshops, and it occurred to him that TU-K had enormous potential which, if well harnessed, can transform the country’s economy.
The CS explained that the Government allocates about Sh2 billion annually on research for institutions of higher learning. However, the money is usually not enough, he therefore challenged university researchers to be more aggressive in fundraising through proposal writing to attract additional funds for their research activities.
Hon. Machogu advised the graduands to further their education by taking advantage of the scholarship opportunities extended to Kenya by foreign governments, and also take up volunteer work to gain on-job experience.
Dr. Idle Omar Farah, Chairperson of the University Council, applauded the Cabinet Secretary of Education, Hon. Ezekiel Machogu, for dedicating strategic efforts to the cause of university education in this country.
The Chairman challenged members of Faculty to promote [postgraduate studies in the institution because now the University has come of age. “We have recruited enough Senior Lecturers and Professors who can adequately supervise postgraduate students. Be more aggressive and enroll more graduate students. The Council would like to see more numbers of postgraduate students graduating.”
Dr. Farah congratulated the graduating students and advised them to consider returning to the university to pursue their postgraduate studies.
The VC Prof. Aduol thanked the Head of State, Dr. Ruto’s recent visit. He conveyed his appreciation to the President for the rare gesture and the several promises he made that will positively impact TU-K.
The VC stated that the university has successfully implemented the blended mode of learning and teaching, whereby staff have been able to deliver quality instructions and academic guidance to the students at their respective convenience.
Madam Jahou Samba Faal and Prof. Washington Yotto Ochieng were awarded honorary doctorates (honoris causa) for their outstanding contribution to technical and engineering disciplines in Africa and the world.
Prof. Aduol further congratulated the past graduands for successfully organising themselves into an association and registering to the Technical University Alumni Association (TUKAA) which was launched on 9th December, 2022.
