Presbyterian University of East Africa (Puea) is set to be issued with a university charter after undergoing a rigorous accreditation process.

Grace Njoroge,  Commission for University Education (CUE) Deputy Secretary ( Accreditation, says the certification will instil confidence in students already pursuing various courses and those who aspire to join the institution.

Njoroge says the private institution, whose main campus in Kikuyu sub-county is near the origins of its sponsoring church, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), has now met all the requirements needed, and President Uhuru Kenyatta will awarded it the charter soon.

She spoke at during the PUEA’s 10^th graduation ceremony where 647 graduands were awarded degrees, diplomas and certificates.

The institution currently has a Letter of Interim Authority waiting to get the charter.

PUEA chancellor Rev Julius Mwamba said the institution attracts students at both undergraduate and graduate levels adding that the university maintains an ecumenical Christian aura where the application of knowledge and skills is guided by Christian values.

The university  was shut down in January last year after then Education CS, (now at Interior) Fred Matiang’i, revoked its licence.

But 10 months later,  President Uhuru Kenyatta reinstated the licence and handed it back the letter of interim authority.

Vice Chancellor John Mungania said the student population had steadily grown to 2,500, half of them being government- sponsored.

He assured the graduates that their degrees are recognised in the job market and challenged them to join the labour market as ambassadors of the institution.

Mungania said the university had gone through all the processes of applying for the charter as stipulated in the Education Act 2012 and was only awaiting accreditation and approval of programmes.

He asked the government, through the Ministry of Education, to level the playing ground to encourage more investors in the education sector, saying apart from stringent conditions and the long time at university takes to get a charter, the government also charges high fees for degree programmes to be accredited, each costing Sh640,000.

Nominated senator Beth Mugo, who was the chief guest, commended Puea as a university with an inspirational story of fighting its own battles. She urged the graduands to now chart their future roadmaps.