Garissa University boosts security as it welcomes 900 new students

Garissa University has assured newly admitted students and their parents of enhanced security measures to ensure their safety throughout their four-year studies.

The university, which has been working to restore its image following the 2015 terror attack that claimed the lives of 148 students, has admitted 900 new students across various courses, bringing total enrollment to over 5,200.

Speaking during the orientation of new students, University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ahmed Warfa highlighted the institution's significant improvements in campus security, including the establishment of a gazetted police post.

He emphasised that all visitors are thoroughly screened, with national identity cards required at the entry gate, where security personnel maintain constant vigilance.

“We are committed to providing sufficient security to ensure a smooth learning experience throughout your four-year course. We have adequate accommodation on campus, and more hostels are being built within the secure, high-walled compound,” said Prof. Warfa.

The Vice Chancellor assured the new students of the university’s commitment to providing quality education in what he described as an emerging "oasis of tranquility, resurgence, and aspiration."

He also addressed the benefits of the new government funding model, explaining that it would ease the financial burden on parents by making university education more affordable.

Garissa University, originally Garissa University College, was established as a constituent college of Moi University through a Gazette Notice No. 116 on September 9, 2012.

As the only university in northern Kenya, Garissa University admitted its first cohort of 480 government-sponsored students on October 7, 2013, and a second cohort of 352 in September 2014, before the tragic terror attack that led to its indefinite closure.

The university resumed its operations in January 2016 and was later granted a charter, becoming a fully-fledged university on October 23, 2017.