Nestled in the highlands of Laikipia County, a quietly ambitious public university is producing graduates ready to compete
By Naomi Andhamo
Laikipia University, situated along the Nyahururu–Nakuru Highway in the heart of Laikipia County, is doing something that too few Kenyan institutions manage quietly well: preparing ordinary students for an increasingly competitive world.
The university’s academic offer spans education, communication, science, technology, business and criminology — a breadth that lecturer Angeline Kwamboka says gives students genuine flexibility in shaping their career paths. She credits assignments, group discussions and research projects with building the independent thinking employers now demand. “Quality teaching and active student participation,” she says, “are essential in preparing learners for what lies ahead.”
Students appear to agree. Charlotte Pearl describes her lecturers as approachable and genuinely invested in student success. She singles out group discussions and library facilities as particularly valuable — spaces where ideas are tested and knowledge deepened. The university’s cool highland climate, she adds with a smile, does not hurt concentration either.
Student leader Michael Njoroge, who represents the School of Education, describes his role as a bridge between student concerns and university management — one that demands patience, empathy and the ability to hold competing opinions without losing sight of practical solutions. He notes that students facing financial pressure can access work opportunities within the institution, a small but meaningful safety net.
Laikipia University will need to keep pace with the accelerating demands of digital skills and practical training. The foundations, however, are solid.
For the students who walk through its gates each semester, the opportunity to learn, grow and move closer to their ambitions remains very much alive.
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- The rot in Sakaja’s boda boda compliance sector
- The roots we ignore: Childhood mental health in rural Kenya and why early wounds become adult illness
- Drug abuse and Kenya’s youth: A threat to lives and the economy
- Behind the lens: The untold life of a photojournalist
- Blow to Trump as Kenya rules out hosting Ebola quarantine for foreign nationals
