University of Nairobi overview

The University of Nairobi (UON), is the country’s oldest University. It ha strained many of the country’s leaders in the social economic and political spheres. Thus, by and large, the alumni of the University hold powerful positions in the country. However, in recent years, there has been increased competition from both public and Private Universities. Currently, the Vice Chancellor of the University is Prof. George Magoha. Some of the campuses of the University includes; The main campus in University Way, Chiromo Campus, Kabete campus (Upper and Lower), parklands law campus, KNH campus.

The University of Nairobi was the first to introduce the parallel programs in 1998. This was mainly due to a shortage of places in the government’s regular program. Other public universities have followed suit and introduced the parallel programs. Money from the parallel programs now accounts for a significant percentage of budget for the public Universities. However, the program has also come under heavy criticism from many educationists, with some saying that it has lowered the quality of higher education. Proponents of the program however argue that it has opened an avenue for students who would otherwise not have gotten any means of higher education advancement. Such billions of shillings would have been spent to educate Kenyans abroad. A report sometime back revealed that Kenyans were spending about kshs.16 billion on education abroad, money which could have been spent on local universities to improve their capacity.

University of Nairobi (UON) courses

UON arguably offers the most number of courses in Kenyan Universities. Medicine, actuarial science, business, commerce, Computer science, education, engineering are some of the most popular courses. One can apply through the University website. Additionally, the University advertises its courses in the mainstream media stations in the country. The most popular postgraduate course is the MBA, which registers hundreds/thousands of students each year. Once a student has been admitted, they can log into the online students portal where they can access various services. Assignments can be communicated through the student email account. A student can also easily access the University library, which has many course work books. The University also advertises for jobs on its website. Jab offices are also located at the campus.