President Peter Mutharika on Saturday said the University of Malawi (Unima) cannot continue to be the same as it has been the past 50 years.
Speaking during Unima’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in Blantyre at College of Medicine, the President said it was only logical to redefine and rebrand the university to be relevant to the future.
He said he was aware of the debate for the autonomy of the colleges—to devolve and grow into separate universities.
But the President said: “Government cannot interfere in that debate because we respect your academic integrity and autonomy to make decisions.
“The choice is yours. All I can say is that our government is open minded and receptive to informed change. Our government is not afraid of bringing change to Malawi. You called for a transformation government, and here it is!”
The President, who is Chancellor of Unima, said his government is committed to supporting the university in creating an environment that is conducive to teaching, learning, researching and service to community.
Earlier, Unima Vice-Chancellor Prof John Saka said human capital is crucial to nation development, adding that Unima has contributed significantly to this.
Saka thanked the Mutharika administration for allocating K65 million in the 2015/16 National Budget for the Unima’s Golden Jubilee activities.
Unima’s four constituent colleges—Chancellor College, The Polytechnic, Kamuzu College of Nursing and College of Medicine—and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar), exhibited some of their activities.
During the celebrations, Unima also launched the University’s anthem and a flag.n
