President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika on Wednesday advised University of Malawi (UNIMA) graduating students to pursue their dreams with determination if they are to succeed in life.
Mutharika, who is also Chancellor of the University of Malawi, was speaking in Lilongwe when he presided over the congregation for the awarding of certificates, Diplomas and Degrees for students from the constituent colleges of the University.
The colleges include Chancellor College, College of Medicine and the Polytechnic.
He said every success begins with a dream, and it was up to the students to be determined about their future, and pursue their goals with a positive mindset.
“Graduating is a passage to achieve more and there are bigger and better things out there and it is all up to you to have a positive mindset,” he said.
He said the nation needs people of their calibre who would contribute their skills to help in developing the country.
Mutharika said the university was the highest place of learning and every student who passes through university education had to exhibit a character that showed that they are different from the rest of the society, hence the advice for them to be the change that the society needs.
“As graduating students, be the positive mindset that will help the society see things in better perspective by showing others that it is possible to change things from the way they are now,” he said.
He attested his government’s commitment to improving the quality of university education in the country by modernizing the university colleges with state-of-the-art facilities, incorporating E-learning modules and improving access to universities by increasing access to loans through the loans board.
“We are stocking libraries with adequate books and making sure that lecturers are equipped with teaching materials, all this is in an effort to improve the country’s university education so that students attain the best education,” he explained.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Malawi, Professor John Saka, commended government for the efforts it is making to improve university education in the country.
Saka revealed that UNIMA ranking in the African Universities diaspora has moved from position 98 to position 89, which according to Saka was evidence enough of government’s efforts to improving the education system in the country.
He said the country’s universities are now equipped with state of the art facilities that are a major milestone to the country’s education sector.
Further, he said UNIMA is also committed to graduating students who are not only both intellectually sharpened and skilled, but also those with knowledge and wisdom that will help in developing the country.
On the day, a total of 479 students graduated, with 388 students graduating with undergraduate degrees and diplomas and 91 students with postgraduate degrees.
