Luke Bisani
The Catholic University of Malawi, on 6th November 2021, held its 20th Congregation for the award of Honours degree to Law Students who completed their studies at the university.
Graduation of Law students
The 20th Congregation was constituted barely four weeks after the National Council of Higher Education NCHE) in Malawi accredited the Law programme offered by the University.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi, Fr. Dr. George Buleya said the university worked tirelessly for five years from 2013 to 2018, to lobby for amendment of legislative that brought monopoly on legal education in the country.
Fr. Buleya added that following the amendment of the legislative, the University took the path of rigorous assessment exercise of its Law programme to be accredited.
“On 30th September 2021, the Council for Higher Education accredited the law programme of the Catholic University, thereby becoming the second university in Malawi to offer legal education,” said the Vice-Chancellor.
“Given the importance we ascribe to academic standards and independent assessment of our programmes and the long wait we have endured to have our Law programme accredited, the Catholic University regards this accreditation as a milestone and a game-changer in the history of our University and, indeed, the history of legal education in Malawi,” he added.
The Ant-Corruption Bureau Director Martha Chizuma who was the Guest of Honour at the graduation then urged the graduates to practice their profession with integrity in desisting corruption that has affected the country’s economic growth.
“Of course, they will tell you that everyone is stealing and there is nothing new you can do about it; do not believe them,” said Chizuma.
She further challenged the graduates to prove to the world on holistic education that the University impacted them during their five-year study.
The law programme is among the thirty-three programmes that are accredited to be offered by the Catholic University of Malawi since it opened its doors in 2006.
The programme was introduced in 2013 to complement Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 of the United Nations calls for peace, justice, and strong institutions based on the rule of law.
House in the Faculty of Law, the programme is underpinned by the fourfold philosophy of deep thinking, shared thinking, innovative thinking, and active thinking.