NAIROBI, Kenya- President William Ruto has awarded a charter to International Leadership University (ILU), challenging universities to produce graduates who can solve real-world problems, start enterprises and compete in a technology-driven global economy.
The charter was awarded at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, November 5, marking a new chapter for the institution, which began in 1980 as the Nairobi International School of Theology. President Ruto said the recognition came with a greater responsibility to prepare “the leaders Kenya needs.”
He said universities must move beyond awarding qualifications and instead equip learners with practical capability, critical thinking and the confidence to create opportunities.
“A degree should certify more than what a graduate knows. It should demonstrate what that graduate can achieve,” President Ruto said.
Four priorities for universities
President Ruto challenged ILU and other universities to align teaching with Kenya’s changing economic needs by working directly with counties, hospitals, cooperatives and businesses to solve practical challenges.
He said higher-learning institutions should bring employers into classrooms, develop programmes with industry and expand practical attachments so that students understand workplace realities before graduation.
The President also called for every graduate to be digitally capable, able to work with data and apply artificial intelligence responsibly. He said institutions must teach enterprise so that young people can identify needs, develop solutions, find customers and build sustainable businesses.
His remarks came amid rapid changes in the global labour market. Citing the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, President Ruto said 39 per cent of workers’ skills could change or become outdated by 2030 because of artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies.
“We cannot build a 21st-century economy with an education system that prepares young people to reproduce yesterday’s answers,” he said, calling for a shift from memorisation to critical thinking and from certificates to competence.
Education funding and internship expansion
President Ruto said the government had increased education funding to Sh784.5 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, up from Sh527 billion in 2022/23.
He said the government had recruited 100,000 teachers since 2023, with another 20,000 expected to join by the end of the year. More than 23,000 classrooms have also been built, while work is under way to establish 1,600 laboratories to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
The President said the student-centred higher education funding model had expanded access to university education through scholarships and loans based on financial need. He noted that 202,133 young Kenyans had been placed in degree programmes this year.
He further announced that the National Internship Programme would be expanded from January 1, 2027, to accommodate 50,000 young Kenyans on monthly stipends. The government will also introduce incentives for private employers who offer internship opportunities.
President Ruto said the measures were aimed at strengthening the transition from education to work while ensuring graduates are capable of creating jobs rather than only seeking them.
ILU Chancellor Prof Kivutha Kibwana described the charter as a major milestone that recognised the governance culture built by the institution over decades.
President Ruto urged ILU to distinguish itself through the problems its graduates solve, the enterprises they establish and the lives they improve.
“Let us do more, and talk less,” he said.
