University of Malawi (Unima) Vice-Chancellor Professor Samson Sajidu has encouraged fresh graduates to be sources of solutions and not perpetrators of problems in the society.
In his address to the second Unima congregation of 2026 in the Great Hall in Zomba yesterday where 2 191 graduated with five receiving doctorate degrees, 73 master’s degrees and 1 946 bachelor’s degrees, among others, he said the graduates persevered during their studies, overcoming academic, physical, economic and mental challenges.
Sajidu said they should showcase the same resilience in the industry.
“Education with character wins trust in the society,” he said.
Sajidu also called on the graduates to be in good terms with the communities they will be living.
“Education has equiped you with knowledge and skills, but your humanity and ability to connect, care and uplift others will define your true legacy,” he said.
Unima Council chairperson Benedicto Malunga agreed with Sajidu, stressing that laziness and corruption frustrate national development.
He challenged the graduates to be zealous in developing Malawi by being hardworking and innovative in departments and other institutions they will be working with.
“The value of education is measured through what you deliver to the society,” said Malunga.
Out of the 2 191 graduates, 1 265 were males while 926 or 42 percent were females. Unima held its first congregation of 2026 in April this year.
Unima is the country’s first and oldest public university founded in September 1964. It previously had five constituent colleges; namely, Chancellor College as the main campus in Zomba, the Polytechnic and College of Medicine (CoM) in Blantyre, Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) and Bunda College of Agriculture in Lilongwe. However, Bunda was delinked in 2011 to become standalone Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
In 2021, Unima was then unbundled, leaving Unima in Zomba while birthing Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (formerly Malawi Polytechnic) while CoM and KCN merged to form Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.
