President William Ruto on Thursday handed International Leadership University (ILU) its charter at State House, Nairobi, and then made an unexpected personal promise: to pay for five of its students every year for the next ten years.

"For the next, God willing, 10 years, I will sponsor five students. Five students every year," Ruto said, according to People Daily.

The charter grants the private institution full university status. It was presented alongside a ceremonial mace and an official seal.

A pledge with details still to come

Ruto said the offer came from his long association with Life Ministry, the organisation behind the university, and stressed that the institution had not asked for it. If kept for the full decade, the pledge would support 50 students.

He said he would agree with the Vice Chancellor on which courses to fund. The value of the sponsorship, who will qualify and whether it will cover full fees were not announced.

ILU's Chancellor is former Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana, its Vice Chancellor is Prof Timothy Kiruhi, and Justice Daniel Musinga chairs its Board of Trustees, Capital FM reported.

'Not just more seats'

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the charter confirmed ILU had gone through the required assessment and met the standards, but told universities their worth would be judged by what graduates can do.

"More students must also mean better education, not just more seats," Ogamba said. He put the number of private universities at 41, enrolling 153,999 students, about 21.7 per cent of all university students in the country.

150,000 applicants in 24 hours

Ruto challenged ILU and every other university to teach through real problems, proposing that counties share urban planning challenges, hospitals share service delivery gaps and cooperatives bring post-harvest losses to students to solve.

He also pointed to the hunger for work experience among young people. "Yesterday, we did announce, as Government of Kenya in internship opportunities for 50,000 students... I am informed that by this morning we had 150,000 applicants within 24 hours," he said.

The President said the government would keep expanding university infrastructure and pursue a student-centred funding model so that learners from all economic backgrounds can access quality higher education.

ILU's charter comes months after Ruto awarded university charters to the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in May.

Photos: Capital FM (charter ceremony at State House); Kenyans.co.ke/PCS (President Ruto signing the ILU charter). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.