Former Prime Minister Raila Oding on Wednesday 19th March 2025 joined President William Ruto in State House Nairobi in the award of charter ceremony of the Riara University.
This is the first official public event the former premiere has attended at Statehouse since the formalizing the broad-based agreement with President William Ruto
The ODM party leader has hailed the strides made by the private University to be awarded the charter.
”So I am very happy today to be here and it’s a good time to come and be here to see Riara University receiving a charter.” Odinga remarked.
According to the ODM leader, Kenyans should not only look at the public sector for employment after completing college and universities and but also the private sector to bridge the unemployment gap.
”People should not just be looking at the public sector for employment. Public sector in our country employs at most 800,000 people and those positions are not vacant. Vacancies only occur when people die or retire.” Odinga stated
This, as Odinga acknowledged the funding gaps issue Kenyan universities and called for a multi-stakeholder approach in addressing the issue.
”And that’s why it is important for us to lay more emphasis on the private sector as a major provision or provider of employment to our people.” Odinga said
Riara University has been operating under a Letter of Interim Authority (LIA) granted by the Commission for University Education (CUE) in Kenya. The LIA allows the university to offer degree programs while working toward meeting the requirements for a full charter.
The institution has been awarded the charter after meeting academic, infrastructural, and governance standards set by the government and the CUE.