By Yamikani Sabola
Mzuzu, May 15, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has asked graduates to adopt attitudes of self-sacrifice, humility and optimism if they want to reap the benefits of education they have received.
He was speaking in Mzuzu on Thursday during the 27th Mzuzu University (MZUNI) graduation ceremony.
He said a good education has power to open good opportunities for the graduates. However, it is their attitude that determines how far they can go.
“There are things that you will need to overcome because they threaten to render your education useless.
“First thing about yourself that you need to overcome is your bad attitude. You need to understand that what you destroy with your bad attitude, you cannot fix with your good education,” he said.
He said attitudes that the graduates should overcome in themselves are attitudes of self-absorption, reluctance, rudeness, stubbornness, pessimism and self-pity.
“If you show up anywhere with your education but forget to leave your self-absorption behind, your education will soon become useless.
“No matter what skills you have acquired through your education; no one will want to be around you if they see in you the attitude of caring about no one but yourself,” he said.
Chakwera said people who have an attitude of self-absorption take all the credit for team efforts, blame others for their own mistakes and take things that are not theirs without asking.
Chairperson for MZUNI Council, Hawa Ndilowe, outlined operational strategies that the university has adopted to raise the bar of excellence.
She said one of the strategies is to strengthen and expand open distance and e-learning opportunities to fast track increase in access to university education.
“We want to expand the number of students accessing university education through open distance and e-learning to 19,000 by 2030. Currently, programs delivered through open distance and e-learning have risen from seven to 15, including science subjects,” she said.
Ndilowe said MZUNI is also pushing for regional and international accreditation, adding that 75 of its programmes have already been accredited by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
She said the university has also identified major business projects to implement through MZUNI Trust Fund to improve the institution’s financial sustainability and independence.
Ndilowe said some of the projects include mega farms and building of hotels in Mzuzu and Nkhata Bay.
Vice Chancellor for the university, Professor Welce Singini, commended Chakwera for abolishing quota system of selecting students to public universities.
He said the system was disadvantaging students from the northern region.
A total of 2,326 students have graduated with PHDs, Master’s Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees and Diplomas including 1,376 males and 950 females.
