Garissa University College

Last updated
Garissa University College

Garissa University is a public university in Garissa, Kenya. [1] Its charter was awarded on October 23, 2017 by President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. [2]

Contents

Overview

Garissa University was founded in 2011 as a constituent college of Moi University, in the facilities of the former Garissa Teachers Training College. [3]

The school's library was established in 1996, as a resource for the former teacher training college. It was later staffed in 2006. [4]

It was the first and only public post-secondary school to offer approved university degree courses in the North Eastern Province. [3] The institution provides courses in the schools of education, information science, and arts and social sciences.

Garissa University was granted a Charter for a fully-fledged university status on 23/10/2017 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Vice-Chancellor is Prof. Ahmed Warfa, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Principal (Finance & Administration) is Prof. Nganga Stephen Irura, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) is Prof. Hussein A. Golicha. The university has 75 staff members. [5] [6]

2015 attack

On April 2, 2015, gunmen stormed Garissa University, killing 148 students and wounding 79 or more. [7] The attackers claimed to be from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and indicated that they were retaliating over non-Muslims occupying Muslim territory. [8] The terrorists took several Christian students hostage, but freed most Muslims. [9] The following day, national and county leaders agreed to suspend courses at the college indefinitely, to allow security services to investigate the attack. Buses were also hired to return students to their homes, and several students insisted they would not return to the university. [10]

Approximately 650 surviving students of the University were absorbed into courses at the main Moi University campus at Eldoret. [11] Jacob Kaimenyi, Kenya's Education cabinet secretary, urged students from the teacher training college to return to the Garissa campus which was re-opened on 5 May 2015 with improved security. Many students, however, have refused to return. [12] The governor of Homa Bay County, Cyprian Awiti, decided to award KSh.  30,000/= to each of the 16 surviving students from that county, in order to help students overcome their trauma and to make arrangements to attend school in Eldoret. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel arap Moi</span> President of Kenya from 1988 to 2002

Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the third vice president of Kenya from 1967 to 1978 under President Jomo Kenyatta, becoming the president following the latter's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eldoret</span> City in Kenya

Eldoret is the fifth largest city in Kenya. In the Rift Valley region, it serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Eldoret is the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) at the airport to more than 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) in nearby areas. The population was 289,380 in the 2009 Census, and it was the fastest growing city in Kenya with 475,716 people according to 2019 National Census. Eldoret was on course to be named Kenya's fourth city, but was edged out by Nakuru in 2021.

Maseno University is a public university based in the Maseno district of the Kisumu County, Kenya, along the Equator. It was fully fledged as a university in 2001, after being a constituent college of Moi University for a decade. It has over 10,000 students pursuing programmes offered in the university campuses and it is currently ranked among the best universities in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aga Khan University</span> University in Karachi, Pakistan, with campuses in various countries

Aga Khan University is a not-for-profit institution and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. It was founded in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university. Starting in 2000, the university expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenyatta University</span> Public university in Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyatta University (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Nairobi, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of October 2014, it was one of 23 public universities in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moi University</span> Public university in Kesses, Kenya

Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from the McKay Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garissa</span> Town in Garissa County, Kenya

Garissa is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethwell Allan Ogot</span> Kenyan historian (born 1929)

Bethwell Allan Ogot is a Kenyan historian and eminent African scholar who specialises in African history, research methods and theory. One of his works starts by saying that "to tell the story of a past so as to portray an inevitable destiny is, for humankind, a need as universal as tool-making. To that extent, we may say that a human being is, by nature, historicus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedan Kimathi University of Technology</span> University in Kenya

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology is a public, coeducational technological university in Nyeri, Kenya. It is one of 22 public universities in Kenya, having been a constituent college of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology since the year 2007 until it was chartered to become a fully fledged public university on 14 December 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology</span> Public university in Juja, Kenya

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, Science, Commerce, Management and Building sciences. The university has a strong research interest in the areas of biotechnology and engineering. Notable alumni include Dr. Paul Chepkwony, the first governor of Kericho County in Kenya and a former lecturer, Emma Miloyo, a prominent Kenyan architect and the first female president of the Architectural Association of Kenya, as well as Aden Duale, the former Leader of Majority in the 11th Kenyan Parliament among others. As at 2023, the Vice Chancellor of the University was Prof. Victoria Ngumi.

Orders, decorations, and medals of Kenya are awarded by the President of Kenya "in recognition of outstanding or distinguished services rendered to the nation in various capacities and responsibilities". Awards are made by the president upon the advice of a National Honours and Awards Committee in the president's office. Individuals are nominated for awards by district committees, government ministries, religious organisations, non-governmental organisations, individuals and others. The Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart is the highest honour awarded by the Kenyan government.

From late 2011 to 2014, Kenya experienced an upsurge in violent terrorist attacks. Kenyan government officials asserted that many of the murders and blasts were carried out by al-Shabaab in retaliation for Operation Linda Nchi, a coordinated military mission between the Somalian military and Kenyan military that began in October 2011, when troops from Kenya crossed the border into the conflict zones of southern Somalia. According to Kenyan security experts, the bulk of the attacks were increasingly carried out by radicalized Kenyan youth who were hired for the purpose. Kenya security officials also indicated that they were part of death squads, which carried out many of the killings under the orders of a government security council. By mid-2014, the cumulative attacks began affecting Kenya's tourism industry, as Western nations issued travel warnings to their citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in Kenya</span>

Many terrorist attacks have occurred in Kenya during the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1980, the Jewish-owned Norfolk hotel was attacked by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In 1998, the US embassy was bombed in Nairobi, as was the Israeli-owned Paradise hotel in 2002 in Mombasa. In 2013, the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab killed 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall. There have also been many other attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Eldoret</span> University in Kenya

University of Eldoret is one of the 22 public universities in Kenya and situated approximately 9 km along the Eldoret-Ziwa road in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County. It was founded in 1946 by the white settlers as a Large Scale Farmers Training Centre. In 1984, it was converted to a teachers’ training college and renamed Moi Teachers’ Training College to offer Diploma Science Teachers Training. Due to the double intake crisis, the college was taken over by Moi University as a campus in 1990, renaming it Chepkoilel Campus. From 1990, the university made it a campus of Natural, Basic and Applied Science programmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Kenya–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and the United Kingdom. The interactions between the two states have been positive and friendly since Kenya's independence in 1963. Both the UK and Kenya are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage with each other regularly on matters of military, economic and cultural importance. Kenya retains many aspects of British culture and governance, such as continuing to use English within administration, education and the law, driving on the left, hosting a diaspora community of Britons, and having a large Protestant population. The British military continues to play an important role in the country with Kenya hosting the UK's largest base in Africa, which provides vital anti-terrorism training to the Kenyan police. The British royal family, in particular Elizabeth II had very close personal ties to the country. Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she received news that her father King George VI had died, and had made multiple state visits throughout her reign. To mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, Prince Edward visited the country to reinforce ties and celebrate Kenya's historic and current relationship with the UK. British tourism and finance are significant contributors to the Kenyan economy, with 100,000 British people visiting the country ever year for its national parks and wildlife.

On 2 April 2015, gunmen stormed the Garissa University College in Garissa, Kenya, killing 148 people, and injuring at least 79. The militant groups Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, which the gunmen claimed to belong to, took responsibility for the attack. The gunmen took over 700 students hostage, freeing Muslims and killing those who identified as Christians. The siege ended the same day, when all four of the attackers were killed. Five men were later arrested in connection with the attack, and a bounty was placed for the arrest of a suspected organizer.

University of Embu is a Kenyan chartered university. It transitioned from a constituent college to a full university on 7 October 2016.

Kirinyaga University is a public university situated in Kutus Kerugoya in Kirinyaga County, Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umma University</span>

Umma University is the first Islamic institution of higher education in Kenya, offering certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate studies. Umma University was founded in 1997. The main campus is located in Kajiado County. Other branch is located in Thika-Makongeni off Garissa road.

References

  1. "Commission for University Education - Status Of Universities (Universities Authorized to Operate in Kenya) - Status Of Universities (Universities Authorized to Operate in Kenya)". www.cue.or.ke. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  2. "President Kenyatta Awards Charter To Garissa University". www.president.go.ke. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  3. 1 2 Facts and Figures Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine , Garissa University College
  4. Library Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine , Garissa University College
  5. Garissa University College Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Garissa University". 2021-08-06.
  7. "Death toll from Kenyan attack rises to 148". RTÉ.ie . 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  8. "Nearly 150 dead in Al-Shabaab school attack, Kenyan officials say". FoxNews. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  9. "Kenya attack: Garissa University assault 'killed 147'". BBC News. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  10. Mutambo, Aggrey (3 April 2015). "Students leave Garissa University after Al-Shabaab kills over 147, injures 79". Daily Nation.
  11. "Garissa survivors report for studies at Eldoret campus". Daily Nation. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  12. Gicobi, Maryanne (15 May 2015). "Return to Garissa college, CS says". Daily Nation. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  13. "Homa Bay governor gives Ksh 480,000 to 'forgotten' sixteen Garissa University students joining Moi". 14 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.

0°27′5″S39°39′41″E / 0.45139°S 39.66139°E / -0.45139; 39.66139