Chakwera back to alma matter, installed 6th University of Malawi Chancellor: Talks of quality graduates, not just qualifications

It was a  moment of pride and nostalgia for President Lazarus Chakwera who returned to Chancellor College in the Eastern city of Zomba where he was among its first graduates but this time around, he was being installed as Chancellor of the University of Malawi (Unima.)

Chakwera is an alumnus of Unima after he graduated from Chilunga campus of Chancellor College before he went on to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Pan African Theology Seminary in the United States of America.

“ The four years I spent at this college was instrumental in shaping my worldview, not only because of the quality of education I received but also because of the quality of young men and women who were sent here,” said Chakwera in his address.

He becomes Unima’s sixth Chancellor  since its  establishment in 1965 by the country’s founding president Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

According to Section 13 paragraph  1 and 2 of the University  of Malawi Act  provides that there shall be a Chancellor of the University who shall be the head of University.

Further the Act provides that the President shall be the Chancellor of the University .

Section 14 of the Act states that the Chancellor ,wherever present shall preside over at all ceremonial and other congregation of the University and shall,  in the name of the university , confer all degrees , diplomas and certificates of the University.

Chakwera upon being installed Unima Chancellor presided over  the graduation and called for  Unima to mould graduates who produce  tangible results in development and not those who engage in an endless paralysis of analysis regarding what is wrong with Malawi and whose fault it is.

“Anyone can point fingers at a problem, but it takes a truly educated person to design and effect a solution,” he said.

Chakwera said the true measure of building capacity is the quality of citizens the education system produces, not the educational qualifications they hold.

He said Unima should return to its “founding vision of producing graduates who have quality not just qualifications.”

Unima Council chairperson Professor Jack Wirima asked for more funding to enable the institution to fulfil its mandate of offering quality education.

On his part, Unima acting vice-chancellor Professor Alfred Mtenje said under the current leadership, the university has no doubt that it will rise to higher levels and continue developing programmes that respond to the country’s needs.

During the Thursday graduation, 461 graduands from Unima  constituent colleges of KCN, The Polytechnic, College of Medicine and Chancellor College were awarded  certificates, diplomas and degrees in which 128  were males  and 333 females.

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