Mt. Kenya University will soon relocate to its new premises in Kagarama, Kicukiro district. Dubbed phase one, the new structures will accommodate science laboratories, a computer laboratory, a library, conference facilities, lecture rooms, administration offices and arenas for recreation such as a swimming pool. The disclosure was made by Marceline Kamande, the university’s Vice Chancellor, at the soon-to-be campus last Friday.

Kamande said the move was meant to consolidate all the university facilities in order to comply with the international standards.  "The facilities we are currently occupying are rented and therefore not sufficient to accommodate the needs of a world standard university,” she explained.

Last month, Mt. Kenya University in Rwanda came under fire when the Ministry of Education suspended two of its courses in the health sciences — pharmacy and public health — due to non-compliance to acceptable standards.

Prof. Evans Kerosi, the deputy vice chancellor in charge of campuses, said the university administration had already moved to replace archaic science equipment with new equipment. "We have already revised the modules and we are waiting for approval from the Ministry of Education,” he explained, adding that if the modules are approved, then people who had already graduated from the respective courses will be invited back to study the modules they had previously missed.

"The new structure will allow for flexibility in the delivery of those modules since it will accommodate modern technology equipment,” Kerosi said. The new premises are expected to be completed by January 2016 and ready for use in May the same year.