Chakwera to be installed University of Malawi  Chancellor on Dec 10

President Lazarus Chakwera will be installed as Chancellor of the University of Malawi (Unima) on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at the Chancellor College in Zomba.

The President will later preside over a graduation ceremony for the 2020 university graduands.

Last week Chakwera was installed  Chancellor of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar)  one of the country’s four functional public universities.

Besides Luanar, other public universities are Mzuzu University, Malawi University of Science and Technology and the University of Malawi (Unima), the oldest with four constituent colleges—Chancellor College, The Polytechnic, College of Medicine (CoM) and Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN).

The Polytechnic is set to be delinked to be a standalone university as are CoM and KCN which will also merge into one university.

Inkosi M’mbelwa University in Mzimba, formerly Mombera University, is another upcoming tertiary education institution initiated during the administration of Democratic Progressive Party.

Historically, Presidents have been ceremonial heads of public universities.

The Unima Act of 1998 in Section 13(23) states that the Chancellor of the university will be the Head of State while Section 13 (3) also gives powers to the President to appoint another person as Chancellor in consultation with the University Council.