University of Nairobi being a world-class institution of Higher Learning has come to the realization that provision of quality education depends on competent academic staff who have adequate knowledge, skills and professional attributes in the field of pedagogy. It is the academic staff who have these qualities that can be innovative in teaching and competent in assessment of learning outcome. If the University is going to have a working team of lecturers and professors who are equipped with knowledge and skills in delivery of lecturers, small group discussions, field study trips and practical then it has to embark on systematic initial training and continuous professional development.
The University of Nairobi in the recent past, established a Centre of Excellence for the study and training of academic staff in Pedagogy and Andragogy. The Centre for Pedagogy and Andragogy (CEPA) was launched on 15th September, 2015 with mandate to train academic staff in Pedagogy which include provision of knowledge and skills in the areas of curriculum development, effective teaching in higher education, incorporation of mentorship in teaching and, assessment and evaluation of learning outcome.
Since its inception the Centre has embarked on training of academic staff, development of administrative structures, recruitment of working team; development of policies and strategies to enable it fulfill its mandate. The Centre continues to train the university academic staff in pedagogy, andragogy and mentorship to enhance teaching and learning processes in higher education. The Centre is also focused on developing its own approach and methodology of pedagogies which will be unique and branded as the University of Nairobi Approach. While all these are going on, the Centre is going to be sensitive to and address the issues that arise from pedagogical practices at the University. The Centre is focused on improving delivery system of teaching and learning and thus provision of quality university education. In addition, the Centre offers consultancy services in the areas of pedagogy, andragogy and mentorship to not only institutions of higher/tertiary education in the East African Region but also Africa as a whole.