Skip to main content

Royal Technical College Nairobi


The Birth of University education in Kenya



Mervyn De Souza who passed away recently in the UK graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Technical College, Nairobi. I have been scratching around for information but with little luck. However, a very special friend is attempting one. The above picture is intended for his story.

IF YOU REMEMBER ANYONE FROM THE FOTO PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

 The University of Nairobi owes its origin to several developments in higher education within the country and the region. The idea of an institution for higher learning in Kenya goes back to 1947 when the Kenya Government drew up a plan for the establishment of a technical and commercial institute in Nairobi.

By 1949, this plan had grown into an East African concept aimed at providing higher technical education for the region.

In September 1951, a Royal Charter was issued to the Royal Technical College of East Africa and the foundation stone of the college was laid in April 1952.

During the same period, the Asian Community of East Africa was also planning to build a College for Arts, Science and Commerce as a living memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. To avoid duplication of efforts, the Gandhi Memorial Academy Society agreed to merge interests with those of the East African Governments. Thus, the Gandhi Memorial Academy was incorporated into the Royal Technical College of East Africa in April 1954, and the college proceeded to open its doors to the first intake of students in April 1956.

Soon after the arrival of students at the college, the pattern of higher education in East Africa came under scrutiny. Through the recommendation of a working party formed in 1958, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Sir John Lockwood, the Royal Technical College of East Africa was transformed. On June 25, 1961, the College became the second University College in East Africa, under the name Royal College Nairobi.

The Royal College Nairobi was renamed University College, Nairobi on May 20, 1964. On the attainment of "University College" status, the institution prepared students for bachelor's degrees awarded by the University of London, while also continuing to offer college diploma programs. The University College Nairobi provided educational opportunities in this capacity until 1966 when it began preparing students exclusively for degrees of the University of East Africa, with the exception of the Department of Domestic Science.

With effect from July 1, 1970, the University of East Africa was dissolved and the three East African countries set up their national Universities. This development saw the birth of the University of Nairobi set up by an Act of Parliament.

Since 1970, the University of Nairobi has seen many innovations, which have contributed to its development and that of the nation. It has grown from a faculty-based university serving a student population of 2,768 to a college-focused university serving over 84,000, currently.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MORE photos of cricketers in Kenya added

More cricket photos added! Asians v Europeans, v Tanganyika, v Uganda, v East Africa, Rhodesia, etc some names missing! Photo Gallery of Kenya Cricket 23 photos: CM Gracias, Blaise d'Cunha Johnny Lobo! Ramanbhai Patel, Mehboob Ali, Basharat Hassan and hundreds others.  
1 comment
Read more

Pinto: Blood on Western and Kenyan hands

  BOOK REVIEW   Pinto: Blood on Western and Kenyan hands   Review by Cyprian Fernandes     Pio Gama Pinto, Kenya’s Unsung Martyr 1927-1965 Edited by Shiraz Durrani [Vita Books, Kenya, 2018, 392 pp.   Pbk, £30, ISBN 978-9966-1890-0-4; distributed worldwide by African Books Collective, www.africanbookscollective.com ]   Less than two years after independence from the British, on 24 February 1965, the Kenyan nationalist Pio Gama Pinto was gunned down in the driveway of his Nairobi home.   His young daughter watched helplessly in the back seat of the family car.   Pinto, a Member of Parliament at the time, was Kenya’s first political martyr.   One man was wrongly accused of his death, served several years in prison and was later released and compensated.   Since then no one has been charged with the murder.   Now the long-awaited book on Pio Gama Pinto is finally here, launched in Nairobi on 16 October 2018....
Post a Comment
Read more

Celly Dias: one of Uganda's greatest sportsmen

  Celly Dias One of Uganda’s greatest sportsmen By Norman Da Costa Celly Dias will be remembered for his excellence on and off the field. He used his creativity and skills to get to the top. Then he turned his attention indoors and again mastered the intricacies of each sport to reign supreme. Celly was a legend in Uganda and his impact on the field was immediate and profound. He enjoyed the best of two worlds – indoors and outdoors - and even his opponents admired him and spoke in glowing terms of this sportsman. He was a sportsman in the true real sense of the word. Having met and interviewed some of the greatest sportsmen during my career in Kenya and later in Canada one thing that struck me about Celly was that he reminded me of tennis ace Roger Federer - humble and down-to-earth.  Celly, who passed away at the age of 94, still followed every sport closely and would analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a batsman or a bowler. This isn’t surprising as Celly p...
Post a Comment
Read more