Mount Kenya University, a privately owned Kenyan institution of higher learning, is set to launch a campus in Gicumbi District.

The university, which already has two campuses in Kigali, requested the district for a plot of land to construct the campus, a development warmly welcomed by the district officials.

In an interview with The New Times, the university’s Rector, Prof. Musa Nyakora, said the programme is already underway, noting that students are free to register.

"We are currently developing a consensus with the district authorities through a memorandum of understanding, but we already have the programme going on,” Nyakora disclosed.

In response to the university’s plans in the district, Nyakora said Gicumbi will act as a case study where nurses and pharmacists will be trained besides improving on the education programmes among both primary and secondary school teachers.

The university will also offer masters programmes in education.

According to Nyakora, in the meantime, the university would rent premises as construction plans for the campus are ongoing.

The district officials said that the move would foster development in the district.

"This is a great development here; it has come at a right time when we needed such establishments,” Mayor Bonane Nyangezi said. 

"Our town will improve because more hostels will be built, several other businesses here will gain a lot and hence, the district will get better,” he added.

According to Prof. Nyakora, Gicumbi District is very strategic for the university as it is also targeting students from Uganda.

Ends