Statement by Amb. Dr Hukka Wario, PhD, CBS, Chair of Council, Egerton University

 Statement by Amb. Dr Hukka Wario, PhD, CBS, Chair of Council, Egerton University, during the 46^th Graduation held on Friday 10^th February 2023 at the main campus, Njoro.

 The Chancellor, Egerton University Dr Narendra Raval 

Our Chief Guest Cabinet Secretary for Education Mr Ezekiel Machogu

Principal Secretary, State Department of University Education and Research Dr Beatrice Muganda Inyangala

Members of the Egerton University Council

The Vice-Chancellor Prof. Isaac Kibwage

Deputy Vice Chancellors- Prof. Richard Mulwa, and Prof. Bernard Aduda

Members of the Egerton University Senate, Deans of Faculties and Directors of Schools & Institutes, Chairs of Departments

Members of the teaching and non-teaching staff

Members of the Egerton University Students Association,

Graduands, continuing students, Members of the Egerton University Alumni

Parents, guardians and friends of Graduands and friends of Egerton University who are watching and listening to this graduation ceremony online, from wherever you are on this planet,

Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,

Mr Chancellor Sir,

Welcome to another happy day in the University Calendar in which 1,290 graduands are going to be awarded degrees and diplomas of Egerton University. Hearty congratulations to you all and to your lecturers and professors, parents, guardians, kith, and kin and all who supported you to realize your dreams of clinching that well deserved, so much cherished, much coveted diploma or degree, be it a Bachelors, a Masters or a PhD, for which you have worked so hard.  Today, Friday the 10^th of February 2023, is a turning point, a watershed in your lives. Like an elegant and beautiful thing that is fluttering in my mind, you will undergo a metamorphosis from a pupa to an adult butterfly, and leave the gates of Egerton, flying on your very own wings. If that is not freedom, then I don’t know what freedom is.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

At every graduation all speakers generally give words of advice to graduands. I won’t be any different. The world out there is waiting to receive you. Some of you will have a soft landing, some perhaps a hard landing, but I do hope no one will suffer a crash landing. I think all those who have supported you up to this point will continue to support you, at least for some

time, until you are economically, up and about on your own two feet.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

I would like to stick to the theme of today’s 46^th graduation, which is excellent and relevant education in an ever-changing world. On reflecting on this theme, I thought its quite wide for a short statement that I am going to give. I chewed it a bit, so to speak, and picked on critical skills you will need in an ever-changing world. I digested this further and zeroed on critical thinking, as what you will badly need in an ever-changing world. So, critical thinking it is.

The world out there keeps on changing, and quite rapidly. It’s not the same world in which your predecessors graduated into two or more years ago. You will be grappling with more competition for employment, a rising cost of living, a devastating drought precipitated by climate change in which both livestock and wildlife have been decimated; a community in which issues of food security, of what to eat is discussed everywhere and every time. You will go into rural settings in our country where issues of water, firewood, electricity will be talked about; and in all these, rather frightening as they may seem at first, solutions are required. You are graduating today,

not to go out there and be a cry baby, who is part of the problem, but as a fresh graduate with new ideas, who will be part of the solution.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

To be a problem solver, in an ever-changing home and work environment, you must be a critical thinker. You may ask what critical thinking is about. It involves always questioning, gathering relevant information, based on real time data and on verifiable evidence. It involves thinking through solutions, generating different scenarios as you seek solutions to problems, costing your possible interventions and making informed choices. Critical thinking involves conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating. And that is not all. It involves generating new knowledge through keen observation, as scientists do, listening attentively, reflecting, reasoning and discussing, as Philosophers do, and all these leading to persuasion, conviction, belief and finally, action.

Critical thinkers are also great communicators. They are eloquent and efficient and effective at both spoken and written communication. They are master of language and good at persuasion and winning support.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

When you interact with critical thinkers, you quickly find out who they are. They are usually inquisitive, curious and questioning and are well-informed. They are confident in their demeanour, open minded and flexible in decision making. They avoid emotional reasoning, focus on an issue to be dealt with one issue at a time, examine evidence, and they are tolerant of divergent views. They observe etiquette and only interrupt a conversation at the right moment, without offending the others. They navigate through and filter disinformation from what appears to be correct information.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

Let us consider a few examples of critical thinkers in real life situations. A civil or construction engineer must think critically not only when designing a bridge but also when deciding whether a suspension or a conventional bridge is more suitable than the other across a stretch of water to the land beyond, and which of the alternatives is more cost effective and less time consuming. The engineer will consider both the beauty and elegance of the bridge to have an artistic appeal and its utility value.

A judge must think critically and decide whether a certain case is best handled in court or out of court or through arbitration by a third party. A medical doctor must think critically to decide whether a particular patient with a certain ailment is better treated using medication or through a surgical intervention. The doctor must find out whether the patient is allergic to certain drugs and how urgent the treatment should be.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

When you are skilled in critical thinking, you have the power to think beyond what you see and hear. You are likely to be a member of a team, a team player and not a loner in addressing issues in your work.

An important partner in critical thinking is emerging technology. You must keep abreast of and keep pace with new technologies. Today, with the advent of the internet, whatever job you do, you need Information and Communications Technology- ICT, which keeps you on the information superhighway. You must constantly build your skills, through up-skilling and re-skilling to take advantage of new technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence and

robotics, mobile telephony with its many applications that make your work easier and gives you information at the press of a key or at a voice prompt or google maps guiding you to places that you have never been to.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

To be relevant today and tomorrow you must be imbued with a sense of curiosity, of exploration and creativity. Every day is a school day. You must open your minds to new learning and be informed. In this way you will be resilient and able to cope with new challenges.

Mr Chancellor Sir,

I would like to congratulate those who won prizes in the Egerton University Chancellor’s Essay Writing Competition. I would like to thank our Chancellor Dr Narendra Raval for his immense generosity in coming up with this idea which is meant to strengthening writing skills among our undergraduates, so that when they enter the job market they can effectively communicate in writing. Writing is a skill that can support livelihoods and make you self-employed as writers, journalists, translators, editors, publishers, you name it. I would also like to thank Professor Emilia Ilieva, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for coordinating and

overseeing the writing and marking of the essays. I would also like to thank the staff who marked the many scripts submitted. This was a big load of responsibility added on to your usual work of teaching, supervising higher degree students and conducting research.

I would like to thank our Chancellor Dr Narendra Raval for offering to sponsor, out of his own accord and compassion, ten most needy students of Egerton University and pay their tuition fees in full, throughout their time of study here at Egerton. The names of the ten students have been passed on to him after a sitting committee did a thorough needs assessment of students, without any bias or favour whatsoever.

Finally, I wish you the best of everything good as you leave the gates of Egerton University. I look forward to connecting, partnering, and working with you as you join the Alumni. In that role, please continue supporting your Alma Mater, so that those who come after you, will also benefit. God bless you all.

CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL TWEETS

Amb. Dr Hukka Wario 

#Egerton46Graduation

Welcome to another happy day in the University Calendar in which 1,287 graduands are going to be awarded degrees and diplomas of Egerton University. Amb. Dr Hukka Wario, Chair of Council, Egerton University #Egerton46Graduation

Hearty congratulations to you all and to your lecturers and professors, parents, guardians, kith, and kin and all who supported you to realize your dreams of clinching that well deserved, so much cherished, much coveted diploma or degree, be it a Bachelors, a Masters or a PhD, for which you have worked so hard.  Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

Today, Friday the 10th of February 2023, is a turning point, a watershed in your lives. Like an elegant and beautiful thing that is fluttering in my mind, you will undergo a metamorphosis from a pupa to an adult butterfly, and leave the gates of Egerton, flying on your very own wings. If that is not freedom, then I don’t know what freedom is. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I would like to stick to the theme of today’s 46th graduation, which is excellent and relevant education in an ever-changing world.  Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

The world out there keeps on changing, and quite rapidly. It’s not the same world in which your predecessors graduated into two or more years ago. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

To be a problem solver, in an ever-changing home and work environment, you must be a critical thinker. You may ask what critical thinking is about. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

It involves always questioning, gathering relevant information, based on real time data and on verifiable evidence. It involves thinking through solutions, generating different scenarios as you seek solutions to problems, costing your possible interventions and making informed choices. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

Critical thinkers are also great communicators. They are eloquent and efficient and effective at both spoken and written communication. They are master of language and good at persuasion and winning support. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

When you are skilled in critical thinking, you have the power to think beyond what you see and hear. You are likely to be a member of a team, a team player and not a loner in addressing issues in your work. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

To be relevant today and tomorrow you must be imbued with a sense of curiosity, of exploration and creativity. Every day is a school day. You must open your minds to new learning and be informed. In this way you will be resilient and able to cope with new challenges. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I would like to congratulate those who won prizes in the Egerton University Chancellor’s Essay Writing Competition. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I would like to thank our Chancellor Dr Narendra Raval for his immense generosity in coming up with this idea which is meant to strengthening writing skills among our undergraduates, so that when they enter the job market they can effectively communicate in writing. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

Writing is a skill that can support livelihoods and make you self-employed as writers, journalists, translators, editors, publishers, you name it. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I would also like to thank the staff who marked the many scripts submitted. This was a big load of responsibility added on to your usual work of teaching, supervising higher degree students and conducting research.  Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I would like to thank our Chancellor Dr Narendra Raval for offering to sponsor, out of his own accord and compassion, ten most needy students of Egerton University and pay their tuition fees in full, throughout their time of study here at Egerton. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

The names of the ten students have been passed on to him after a sitting committee did a thorough needs assessment of students, without any bias or favour whatsoever. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

I wish you the best of everything good as you leave the gates of Egerton University. I look forward to connecting, partnering, and working with you as you join the Alumni. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation

In that role, please continue supporting your Alma Mater, so that those who come after you, will also benefit. God bless you all. Amb. Dr Wario, Chair of Council #Egerton46Graduation