Fresh graduates challenged to make positive contribution to the nation

Each year, thousands of professionals graduate from the country’s colleges and universities, yet Malawi seems to be making sluggish progress in addressing her social and economic challenges.

Is the problem our education system or our graduates have simply chosen not to do the right thing?

It is probably against this background that on Friday, the Vice Chancellor of the ShareWorld Open University, Professor Theodora Mapemba, challenged graduands from the college to set out to the country to help address new challenges facing the country.

Mapemba made the remarks during the 12th graduation ceremony for the university in Lilongwe.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wilima, presided over the graduation, which took place at the university’s campus at Katete in Area 36.

Mapemba further urged the graduating professionals to make a positive contribution towards the socioeconomic development of the country.

“I urge you to seize these opportunities and help lead our society into a promising future. Do not divert from the journey you have taken until you are proud of your achievements. If you want to be successful, don’t just dream, work for that success. Whatever you do, do it so well so that you leave a mark everywhere you go. You will never know the greatness inside you until you dare yourself,” she said.

ShareWORLD Open University was founded in 1994 to give a chance to students who failed to make it to the then only University of Malawi (UNIMA) to go on to realise their dreams of accessing tertiary education at a private college.

Mapemba boasted that though the university started as a simple wish in Blantyre, it has managed to expand campuses to Lilongwe as the main campus, Mzuzu and in the recent past, Chipata, Zambia.

“This has led us to expand not only our approaches to teaching and learning but also to introducing new courses relevant locally, regionally and internationally through our curriculum review process. Most of our graduates have risen to high positions in the sectors for which we have been providing courses such as government, parastatal organizations, media houses and various non-governmental organizations, and they have made a great impact in these sectors,” she said.

In her remarks, Kambauwa Wilima said it is the wish of the Tonse Alliance government to ensure that every Malawian access quality education irrespective of the social and economic status they are coming from.

The deputy minister therefore commended the private universities for contributing towards expanding tertiary education in Malawi.

She also assured the private tertiary education institutions of the government’s support.

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