Dedan Kimathi University Makes History;Holds Virtual Graduation Ceremony

The Dedan Kimathi University of Technology located in Nyeri County  broke the limits yesterday and entered the Kenyan history books by becoming the first University in the country to ever hold a virtual graduation ceremony. The University's 9th graduation ceremony since the university was given a charter was streamed live on the university's social media platforms Facebook, YouTube and Twitter thanks to the internet.Yesterday , Friday 8th may 2020 was an auspicious day for 1,600 graduates who satisfied the university senate for the award of various degrees, diplomas and certificates and will forever be ingrained in the hearts of many. The University decided to hold the virtual graduation ceremony owing  to the impact of coronavirus pandemic on social gatherings. The University management, that seems to have the best interests of students at heart took the advantage of the new media era to hold the graduation so that they do not delay the student's certificates that are to some extent the gateway to getting employed.
The event kicked off at 11:00 am with the national anthem and the melodious East Africa's community anthem with less than 10 people in the main dais to observe the social distancing rule. After the anthem, the University's vice Chancellor Prof. Eng. P. Ndirangu Kioni was called over to constitute the congregation as the norm in any conventional graduation ceremony that signifies the official opening of a graduation ceremony. Once the congregation was constituted, the university's Chaplain Fr. Charles Kinyua led the congregation in prayers and later two short testimonials from two graduands thanking the university for the brilliant idea of holding the virtual graduation ceremony.The registrar for Academic affairs Prof. Wanjiku Khamasi was called over to read out the names of the most outstanding graduands for academic recognition and awards for their outstanding performance. As she read out the names, the pictures of the graduands were shown to the online audience who were glued to their screens and were passing out their congratulatory remarks to the fellow graduands through comments on the live videos.The Vice-chancellor after his short speech called the Ag. Chancellor Dr. Jane Nyakang'o to give her speech before the conferment of degrees and diplomas.Through out these proceedings, one thing was conspicuous: adherence to social distance and sanitizing, which one gentlemen was devoted to. He kept on sanitizing the podium speaker after speaker.

The Deputy Vice-chancellor Research and Academic affairs Prof. Esther Magiri invited the deans and directors of various schools to read out the names of graduands who had qualified for the award of various degrees and diplomas. As their names were called out, their pictures were displayed on a screen. If it was a conventional graduation ceremony, the graduands would have risen on their feet once their names were called out. In this virtual one, they probably commented present on the live video.when all the deans and directors were done, and the congregation standing, the Vice chancellor invited the chancellor to confer the degrees and award of diplomas to the graduands. As it is the norm, they were given the powers to read and write and to do everything that pertains to their degrees. In a record time of 1 hour and 2o minutes they became graduates and the vice chancellor declared the 9th congregation for the award of degrees and diplomas by the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology dissolved. Congratulations to the graduates.Other universities should follow suit and stop waiting for the pandemic to end so that they can mint money from garduands in the name of graduation and gown fee. Dedan Kimathi Univeristy has set a precedence in the country, though almost every graduand would advocate for a conventional graduation ceremony because of the celebrations, pomp and colour that comes with it. Again we say congratulations to the Dedan Kimathi University and the 2020 graduation class.