Photo Credit:Reuters
The University of Nairobi (UoN) is showing great resilience and has put forth its strategic vision in the face of growing financial, governance, and systemic issues. In a wide reaching press statement issued on May 19, 2025 Acting VC Prof. Margaret J. Hutchinson gave a frank yet positive report on the state of the university which is the oldest and largest public institution of higher learning in Kenya.
With more than 256,000 graduates since we began in 1956, UoN has for a very long time been a force to be reckoned with in education and national leadership. Our alumni are present in critical offices in the public and private sectors, from the Presidency to industry. At present we serve over 55,000 students and have a staff of 3,000 which includes the highest number of professors in Kenyan universities and we graduate a total of 10,000 professionals each year from our 10 faculties.
Despite that which one may think the university is in fact dealing with issues of underfunding and the results of the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model which was put in place in 2017. The government’s capitation grant now only covers 30% of the university’s payroll which in turn puts strain on operational and sustainable issues. Also to that we see that there are governance issues, out of date training frameworks in a very dynamic tech environment, and also the issue of limited resources which has put the institution’s performance in question.
Strengthening of research, transforming to a digital model in operations, we are also introducing what will be future focused courses like Artificial Intelligence, we are fostering innovation through industry partnerships, and we are engaging stakeholders to address financial and governance issues.
Research is at the core of what the university does. UoN reports active participation in 13 global research networks which include ARUA, RUFORUM, and AFRETEC and which secure for the university KES 4.2 to 4.7 billion in research grants every year. Also we see an increase in the university’s reputation which is reflected in global rankings, very recently in fact which saw us named by EduRank as the best in Kenya, 8 th in Africa and 805 th in the world.
The report also notes recent achievements which included smooth running student elections that saw in Prof. Derrick Troy Odhiambo as the UNSA President and a public lecture by the President of Finland, Prof. Alexander Stubb at Taifa Hall.
Prof. Hutchison put out a call to the university community to come together, to be resilient, and to stay focused. “The University of Nairobi is a go we are in the midst of change and we are very much relevant” she said. “Let us as a community put in that hard work and realize our great dream of transformation which includes all of us.
