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Confusion as varsity locks out guests at graduation

By NN REPORTER December 20th, 2013 1 min read

There was confusion outside the gate of Technical University of Kenya after dozens of guests without invitations to the graduation were locked out on Thursday.

The guests, some of whom had travelled from upcountry claimed they had forgotten their invitation cards at home, but the guards could hear none of that.

The security staff remained strict throughout the ceremony,  only letting in guests with invitation cards to the graduation square.

There was a clear deficit of space even as majority of those who accessed the graduation square remained standing throughout.

This was the first graduation ceremony since the institution was upgraded to university status on January 15, this year.

Some 2,509 graduands were awarded with certificates, diplomas and degrees in various fields including Philosophy in Technology and Engineering.

Vice-Chancellor Francis Oduol said the occasion called for celebration as the graduands were the first batch   under the institution’s new status. “These graduands are of special significance since they are the first lot to graduate with professional degrees from the institution,” he said.

The Technical University, which sits on a 31-acre piece of land, however, faces the challenge of space and is in the process of expanding.

The Commission for University Education demands that for institutions to offer education, they must have least 50 acres of land for its use. “We hope to fully develop the institution’s plots in South B and South C in due course,” said Council chairman George Eshiwani.