Plans to develop Nyandarua University College are in top gear as the Commission of University Education (CUE) in conjunction with Nyandarua County Government have made the last inspection of lecture rooms and various departmental offices at the Ol-Joro Orok Agricultural Training Centre (ATC).
Governor Kiarie Badilisha and Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson (Vice Chancellor- the University Nairobi) and a team from CUE visited the Centre Tuesday to pave way for preparations of the final report that would guide the official pronouncement of the establishment of the University College.
“We intend to support the establishment of the University and make it a globally competitive,” said Prof. Margaret Jesang.
They termed this as a landmark time when CUE, which is the regulator for Higher Education in the country, moves in to check on the readiness of the University College for interim registration. They commended the tremendous progress that has been made for the entire institution.
According to Governor Badilisha, the County Administration has pumped in a considerable amount of money to renovate the buildings and other infrastructure that were initially being used by the Animal Health and Industry Training Institute (AHITI) Nyahururu before it was relocated to its current location.
At the institutions, there are lecture and dining halls, a well-equipped library, and an administration block among other facilities.
“My government pledges an unwavering commitment to seeing this long-delayed dream come true. The County Government has committed resources towards creating the necessary infrastructure for the university’s commencement and the long-term objective is to have the facility at Captain Trading Centre and hopefully satellite campuses in other sub-counties. This is a dream that will be realized,” said Badilisha.
The University of Nairobi has committed to nurturing the constituent college into a fully-fledged university.
Already, Governor Badilisha has held successful deliberations with stakeholders drawn from the Education Ministry and the Commission for University Education, as well as with local MPs, on fast-tracking this process.
By Antony Mwangi