Publication:

19th Graduation Booklet

Higher education in our African context should be on the forefront in assisting the communities to end inequalities, bring about unity in diversity and ensure inclusivity. The education we offer at our higher education institutions must assist individuals realize their greatest potentials within their own environment rather than alienating them. In deciding what kind of higher education to be offered in a country, cognizance of the population is necessary and two main questions need to be addressed,namely, what are our priorities and what skills do we need to inculcate? We must pay attention to the alienating potential of higher education to the population which must be avoided in a way that brings about relevance. For instance, we have a lot of sunshine in Africa. So how much emphasize have we placed on solar energy production and its utilization? What about studies based on agriculture and other natural resources which are so relevant in Africa? We must have our priorities right. As universities, we must embrace community engagement in order to understand our local communities well enough, come up with society-based projects and curricula, come up with strategies of tackling challenges facing the local communities such as environment degradation, conflicts, unemployment, dehumanizing poverty levels, youth radicalization, diseases, and many others. When higher education institutions successfully integrate their programmes with the needs of the local, regional and global communities, it is only then that they become vehicles for the achievement of equity, unity in diversity and inclusivity. Thus, congratulations to MKU students, staff and management on the recognition by the United Nations Academic Impact office as the SDG 10 HUB on Reduced Inequalities. This is a perfect testimony of MKU’s continued effort in enhancing equity, unity in diversity and inclusivity in the society.