Bomet University Awarded Charter as Government Pledges Higher Research Funding
By Chemtai Kirui
Nairobi, Feb 5 — Bomet University has been awarded a charter, formally elevating it to a fully fledged public institution, as the government reiterated plans to expand research funding and strengthen science and innovation in higher education.
The charter was awarded by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, where he said the administration was repositioning research and innovation as a core pillar of university training through the creation of a dedicated State Department for Science, Research and Innovation.
The award makes Bomet University the country’s 36th public chartered university, according to government figures.
A university charter is the highest legal recognition granted under Kenya’s Universities Act, allowing an institution to operate independently, govern its affairs through its own council and senate, offer degree programmes, confer academic awards in its own name, and access direct government funding and grants.
Chartered status is issued only after institutions meet regulatory thresholds on governance, academic quality and infrastructure.
Bomet University was established in 2017 as Bomet University College, a constituent college of Moi University, to expand access to higher education in the South Rift region. It has since expanded its academic programmes and student population, meeting the criteria required for full university status.
Addressing senior education and county officials at the ceremony, including Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba and Bomet Governor Prof. Hillary Barchok, Ruto said the move would help scale up science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) training, strengthen research output and support the commercialisation of innovation.
The university’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Charles Mutai and Chair of Council Prof. John Shiundu received the charter on behalf of the institution.
Officials from the Ministry of Higher Education and other dignitaries were also in attendance.
Ruto said the government plans to raise national investment in research from about 0.8 per cent -to 2 per cent of gross domestic product, a shift he said would progressively build a long-term research and innovation base valued at about KSh1 trillion over the next decade.
“This is not only about laboratories and publications,” Ruto said. “It is also about financing start-ups, commercializing innovation, and building a generation of scientists, engineers and creators who will drive economic transformation.”
The country now has 83 universities serving nearly 630,000 students, figures the president said reflect continued expansion of access to higher education.
Enrolment grew by about 12 per cent last year, according to government data.
Ruto said the expansion was intended to ensure qualified students can access university education regardless of location, even as public universities face growing pressure to balance enrollment growth with quality and financial sustainability.
