The African Talent University (TATU) has expressed concern over the low uptake of university education in Nyanza region.
The Kisumu-based institution says it will hold a career open day on 14 August to help prospective students register for placement through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and apply for funding from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
The initiative follows the university’s inclusion on the KUCCPS placement portal, making it eligible to admit government-sponsored students.
The university’s founder and director, Prof Humphrey Oborah, said the event would bring together officials from KUCCPS, HELB and the Kisumu County Government to guide students through the admission and funding process ahead of the next university intake.
Speaking alongside the acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Redempta Yeda, Prof Oborah said many students were unaware that they could receive government sponsorship at the institution.
He said some qualified students did not apply because they believed they would have to pay the full cost of tuition.
Prof Oborah said the university charges between Sh 45,000 and Sh47,000 per semester, which he described as among the lowest fees for a talent-based university in the country.
He said the institution had admitted 216 students during the May intake but remained concerned about the low number of applicants from Kisumu County.
According to Prof Oborah, about 92 percent of the university’s students come from outside the county, a trend he said is also reflected in other universities across the country.
He said the university hoped the career fair would encourage more local students to pursue higher education while exposing learners to a range of academic programmes and talent development opportunities.
Prof Oborah said the university focuses on identifying and nurturing students’ talents alongside academic training.
He argued that natural abilities, if professionally assessed and developed, could become a source of employment and income.
He also called on county governments to support the recognition and accreditation of people with practical skills acquired outside formal education, citing trades such as construction and motor vehicle assembly.
The university, he said, assesses learners’ practical abilities before providing academic enrichment to help them build careers based on their talents.
Prof Yeda said the institution wanted communities in Kisumu and the wider region to benefit from the programmes it offers.
She said the university was working to strengthen its continental outlook and already had partnerships and contacts in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
She said the institution’s long-term goal was to reflect the diversity of Africa through its student population.
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