Prof Mike Kuria is the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission for University Education(CUE).

Education Cabinet Secretary, Prof George Magoha appointed Kuria to take over from the incumbent, Prof Mwenda Ntarangwi whose contract ends on September 4.

CUE Chairman, Prof Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha said the CS communicated the appointment in a letter dated July 14.“CS informed Prof Kuria that he would serve as the Commission Secretary/Chief Executive Officer for five years renewable once starting on September 5,” said Chacha, in a statement yesterday.

According to Chacha, the commission’s CEO position attracted 49 candidates when it was advertised in May, 15 of whom were shortlisted for final interviews.

Higher education

Chacha described Kuria as a multi-skilled and versatile leader, an academic with extensive experience in quality assurance in higher education.He worked as the Director, Centre for Quality Assurance at Daystar University, for 10 years during which the university was selected by UNESCO as one of its case studies for good practice in quality assurance for higher education.

His excellence in quality assurance earned him a position as the first Secretary General of the East African Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) in 2012.

At the network, Chacha further said, Kuria was charged with coordination of an initiative to develop the East African Community (EAC) regional quality assurance system for higher education, in partnership with the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) Nairobi office, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), and the German Rectors Conference (HRK).“In that project, he was one of the architects of the quality assurance system where he led the development of several QA tools that are in use today across multiple institutions in East Africa,” said the Chairman.

In 2016, Kuria was competitively recruited as the Deputy Executive Secretary of IUCEA where, besides spearheading multiple projects to support higher education in the region, he took on duties of the Executive Secretary and provided leadership of the organization during a three-month period as the council recruited a substantive Executive Secretary.