Dear 38th Batch Graduating Students of Unity University, let me start by saying CONGRATULATIONS! for successfully completing your studies and coming to this august occasion. This is not a simple Congratulations! Since you managed to achieve it against all odds. It goes without saying that you are not alone to enjoy this achievement. There are your faculty, friends, Instructors, the entire University community, as well as all significant others. Once again, I would like to congratulate all those who selflessly contributed towards the success.

As you all know, there are a lot of factors that make this Graduation event a special one. You all know the ups and downs you went through due to the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has significantly impacted the teaching-learning process that had to be conducted by respecting protocols as related to number of students in each class.

Through the collective efforts of our students, Instructors and the University community as well as your families, we have managed to successfully continue the teaching-learning process by strictly observing the COVID-19 Protocol set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the directives issued by pertinent government bodies. This makes the success achieved even more sweet. So, we are here today to enjoy the sweet fruits of our collective efforts.

Let me take this opportunity to quote an old English adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention. ”When schools were closed and the teaching-learning process was disrupted for close to a year, people did not just sit down to wait for miracles to happen. No time was spared to work in unison and come up with bright ideas to tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The Leadership and Management of Unity University are committed to continue working towards enhancing the accessibility of education to communities that badly need it. With this in view, the University continues its vertical and horizontal expansion by way of launching more campuses and programmes. This is not, however, to rule out the efforts being made to ensure the quality of education at all levels. This is in light of our drive to make Unity University “A Quality House”. We aspire to make our University an institution where students come to by their own free choice.

In conclusion, as a father and your President, let me leave you with one piece of advice. Be convinced that education has no end. Knowledge is a spiral growth. Your graduation today should be a springboard for further studies. The world today calls for cut-throat competition. You should make yourselves ready for that by regularly updating your knowledge and skills. To this end, you can rely on your University for your continued higher education to the PhD level, which will be introduced in the near future. Hence, when you leave us today, we at Unity University do not say “Good bye!” We rather say “See you again!” Finally, I ask you to join me in wishing our country to come out of its current unparalleled challenges with success so that you can be of great help in contributing to its economic development. Once again, Congratulations! and God bless you all! Arega Yirdaw (PhD) President and CEO, Unity University