Parliament approves Kenya’s first fully-fledged virtual university
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Parliament approves Kenya’s first fully-fledged virtual university, a promising low-cost alternative to Kenyans
Parliament approves Kenya’s first fully-fledged virtual university, a promising low-cost alternative to Kenyans.
The first virtual university in Kenya has been approved by MPs, offering Kenyan students a low-cost alternative to the country’s traditional higher education system.
Depending on the course, the university is anticipated to charge between Sh10,400 and Sh10,900 per module.
The draft charter for the Open University of Kenya (OUK) has already been adopted by the National Assembly, clearing the door for the admission of the first cohort of 7,100 distance learners.
“Based on the principle of affordability and in comparison with other open distance learning institutions, it is proposed that the fee payable by students for the identified programmes should be between Sh10,400 and Sh10,900 per module,” the Technical Committee on the Establishment of the Open University of Kenya said in a report.
“The cost per module is Sh10,400 for the Bachelor of Data Science, Bachelor of Economics and Statistics, Bachelor of Science in Business and Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Technology Education, and Bachelor of Cyber Security and Digital Forensics.”
The cost per module for the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences and Technology is expected to be Sh10,900.
“For the two post-diploma courses – Diploma in Learning Design and Technology and Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Accountability – offered in the first year, the projected fee per year is Sh130,000,” the team said.
At the Open University of Kenya, which will be based at the Konza Technopolis in Machakos, the total number of modules taken by a full-time student will be between four and six.
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President William Ruto appointed the Presidential Working Group on Education Reform on September 30, 2022, to among other things, recommend a framework for the operationalization of the National Open University of Kenya and open, distance, and e-learning (ODEL).
The report, which was approved by parliament and went on a two-week recess, shows that taxpayers will spend Sh1.86 billion in the first year of OUK’s operation to run the virtual university.
The committee said total staff salaries for the proposed Virtual University would account for only 30 percent of the total budget, compared to 80 percent in Kenya’s public universities.
Most of the staff will be employed on contract, piece-work or part-time basis.
The government is expected to provide the recurrent and development grants of the total budget in the first year of operation.
“The committee is convinced that the investment in the Open University for Kenya is sound and timely,” the committee said.
The committee has since submitted to the Ministry of Education a blueprint for the establishment of the OUK, a proposal for the Open University of Kenya, the Open University of Kenya Bill 2011, and a draft charter.
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