CHUKA UNIVERSITY UNESCO CHAIR

Chuka University is the 9^th Chartered Public University in Kenya. It started prophetically around colonial times in the 1950’s when area residents decided to use education to develop their livelihoods and do away with colonial masters. It is located in Meru South, Tharaka-Nithi County, at about 180 km from Nairobi city on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. It was the first institution of higher learning to be established in Eastern Kenya. Prior to that, all the rest were to the West.

Chuka University (CU) is an institution of higher learning which since inception has charted a clear pathway to academic excellence. The establishment of a great learning institution in Chuka was foretold way back in 1951 by the then renowned seer Jerusha Kanyua. Subsequently, the Chuka community built a Craft Centre in 1956 at Ndagani-Chuka to train school leavers to acquire skills that could be useful in nation-building. With the diligent efforts of many, the Centre was upgraded to a Youth Polytechnic in 1969, building the technical skills of the youth in a variety of aspects and setting the platform for leveraging on their education as a driver of local growth and development

On the strength of governance and administrative structures, physical and human resources development, capacity building discourses and efforts that Chuka University was positioned in a prime position for establishing the UNESCO Chair on Conservation of Environment and Water for Sustainable Development (CEWSD).