Dr. Gicharu calls on the government to create a bloggers academy to tap on their skills.

MKU founder and Chairman Dr. Simon Gicharu introducing one of the 4,540 graduants, Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar to the audience at  the Graduation Pavilion Grounds along the Thika- Garissa Road on Friday.

Mount Kenya University (MKU) founder and Chairman Dr. Simon Gicharu has challenged the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs to establish a bloggers institute that will tap the talents and skills of the youth currently engaging in blogging.

While speaking during the university’s 15^th Graduation Ceremony at their Graduation Pavilion Grounds along the Thika- Garissa Road on Friday, Dr. Gicharu said he was saddened by the manner leaders and especially politicians misused and later dumped these young people immediately they were done with their mission.

He noted that it was for this reason that the same youth turned against these leaders and started using the same platforms to hit back.

“I feel very sad when we use young people to do our work especially politicians and business people and once we finish with them we just leave them. When again they start hitting back through their blogs, we demand for their arrest. Gagging them is not really the solution. The government should go beyond and create an institution or an academy of bloggers so that we can be able to tap into the innovation of these young people instead of harassing them,” he said.

The chairman also challenged the youth and especially those graduating from various learning institutions against the culture of wanting to get rich very quickly because it is ruining careers of so many youth in the country and landing some of them in jail.

“Let us not destroy our institutions because of greed. We should build them. We should deviate from this idea of getting rich quickly. You can start small and grow rich,” he said.

Gicharu promised to strengthen the institution’s incubation centres to enable their students to commercialise their inventions. He added that they will connect these students with financial institutions that will support such projects.

In a bid to support the Kenyan government in its quest to provide Universal Health Care, he said that MKU will award 10 scholarships to students at their College of Health Sciences. He challenged other universities to follow suit and support the government in this noble course

The chief guest Professor Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha challenged universities to promote research and innovation so as to catalyse growth in the local and global markets.

Chacha, who is the Chairman of the Kenyan Commission for University Education (CUE), challenged the graduants to utilise the knowledge and skills learnt to venture in creation of jobs rather that toiling in search of white collar jobs.

Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar and his Jomvu counterpart Badi Twalib were among the 4,540 students graduated in various faculties.

Jaguar graduated with a degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution while Twalib did Bacheror of Business Management.

Another notable graduant was Chief Francis Kariuki from Lanet Umoja, Nakuru North sub-county, the globally recognised “Tweeting chief” is known for embracing technology.