University of Tetova, through a solemn academy marked the jubilee year, the 25th anniversary of its foundation. This academy was attended by a large number of public personalities from the country and ethnicities, including the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Talat Xhaferi, businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Lazim Destani, university rectors, Albanian political party leaders, deputies, ministers, professors and students.
The ceremony was declared opened by the Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Vullnet Ameti, who said that the 25th anniversary of the founding of the University of Tetova is a special event for the Albanian people, students, professors, intellectuals and lovers of Albanian education who became the dam of protection of this temple of knowledge and of the future, at the time when the foundation and sound rise of the University was prevented and fought with all possible means of violence available to the State. “For this reason, in the first quarter of the functioning of the University of Tetova, we express our deepest gratitude to all who contributed to Its birth and recovery, bowing in particular to the work of the martyr of university education in Albanian language, Abdylselam Emini, in front of the First Historical Rector, Prof. Dr. Fadil Sulejmani, in front of the people who helped him materially in the most difficult moments, in front of those who transformed their homes into auditoriums, labs and university libraries, in front of Albanian mothers and sisters who donated to the Albanian University even neck ornaments and, in front of many generations of living and dead education torches, who sacrificed their lives dreaming of this blessed day. Without these titanium efforts, the University of Tetova would not today be a serious hearth of higher education and would not grow at a gigantic pace in the number of faculties, programs and study directions, in the number of modern university laboratories and infrastructures, the number of students and teaching and administrative staff and, of course, the quality of teaching and the success of our hard-working students ready for the local and international labor market”, – said Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti.
He also said that for 25 years our University, with its professors and with the most vital part – students of all generations, has strongly contributed to the colossal development, progress and changes that have taken place in the country where we live and work. “UT, from its foundation until today, beside the mission of education and research, has its tremendous merits and contribution in all the progressive processes, strategy and successful nationwide developments. Last year our University has marked significant results in all areas and has achieved its main goals as an institution of higher education in our country. At the end of last academic year, with a solemn ceremony we promoted about a thousand graduates of the generation 2018/2019. University prestige, the rich educational and scientific offer, professional cooperation, correct and intensive cooperation with state institutions, with other universities of the country, with non-governmental sector, with business community etc., have transformed the University of Tetova into the epicenter of youth, intellectuals, scientists and writers and poets in our country and abroad. As a result of this image, we have been able to meet our goals with the approach of new students, who enroll each year in the study programs of our 13 faculties. In the academic year 2019/2020, in the first and second cycle, we have enrolled about 2500 new students. We have continued with student support by providing facilities in several payment categories, while a significant number have been completely relieved of semester payment obligations. It is worth mentioning that for the academic year 2019/2020, the University of Tetova has awarded around 100 scholarships to excellent students. We have made it possible for our institution to be involved in academic and scientific development projects in the framework of European higher education projects, in projects that primarily target the development of academic staff, the mobility of professors and students, the application of European quality standards and organization of international scientific conferences and congresses”, – said Prof. Vullnet Ameti.
At the academy dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the UT, to the participants on behalf of the Deputies of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia with greeting speech addressed the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Talat Xhaferi. He said that this solemn academy is the right way of marking events that have left important traces in the historical and educational development of the past, present and future generations of a people and state. “Of course, every university has its own history of founding, growing, development and positioning to the degree it deserves, and that has to do with how much a people understands and upholds the value of the temple of wisdom. University of Tetova has it all? A people who have understood the value of education in their mother tongue and for this have shared the morsel of bread, students with a will for knowledge, and courageous people who have never hesitated to defend this right with their bodies and with their lives”,- said the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Talat Xhaferi. He further said that although universities are autonomous institutions, with their own statutes and rules, nevertheless to ensure their longevity, is made up a triangle of academic staff, students and the state budget, which of course, always may be higher.
On behalf of the Government of Macedonia, the occasion was given by the Minister of Education and Science, Arbër Ademi. He said that during its 25 years of operation, the University of Tetova is producing a framework that is respected and needed for our country in terms of professionalism and preparation, contributing to the creation and implementation of social processes and at the same time producing a framework that accurately possesses the skills necessary for labor market competition. “It has been past 25 years from the beginning of the realization of the idea of foundation a higher education institution in the Polog region, a country that over time is providing opportunities for the education of our people in their mother tongue and has an impact on regional development and the establishment of one of the main pillars of higher education and one of the driving forces of general socio-economic progress of the country, as is the transformation into one of the institutions that produces an extremely qualitative framework that is indispensable in all spheres of social area and which at the same time contributes to the development of science, to scientific-research activity, to the development of innovation, to entrepreneur, and so on. The vision of the initiators and “creators” of this idea has come true, while the mission of this University is being implemented with high intensity and this process never ends. I strongly believe that this will be so and I wish we had even greater achievements than we have achieved so far!”, – said the Minister of Education and Science, Arbër Ademi.
Unable to attend the anniversary celebration of our University, this solemn academy was welcomed with a congratulatory telegram by the current President of the Albanian-American Community of Texas in the United States, Bruno Ceka and former President Nazmi Memeti, who congratulated the University of Tetova on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its foundation, bringing attention to the contribution of Albanian intelligence from our country and the Republic of Kosovo, as well as the willingness of the Albanian lecturers and the Albanian Diaspora to assist the University of Tetova in its founding year. In their telegram, they also commended the university leadership for awarding Doctor Honoris Causa, to the artist of the nation Mr. Mirush Kabashi.
On the 25th anniversary of the University of Tetova was awarded the highest scientific title Doctor Honoris Causa to the artist of the nation, Mirush Kabashi. The speech for awarding this scientific title to the artist Mirush Kabashi was read by a member of the Commission, Prof. Dr. Salajdin Saliu. “The life of actor Mirush Kabashi has been linked with the theater, with this condensed universe, that has conveyed to man the saddest truths of human existence since ancient times. Mirush Kabashi, through the art of acting, expressed through the game of acting, diction, plasticity and emotional transformation, has conveyed to the public the universal messages of major national and world works, while as an intellectual he has conveyed the most humane messages of freedom, democracy and defense of human dignity. He is fixed in the memory of the spectator with many unrepeatable roles, whether in theater or film. Mirush Kabashi, with his talent, managed to create inaccessible figures, which are fixed in the public mind. Appreciating an actor of these dimensions, we judge that we value and respect the genius of art, we appreciate the beauty, wisdom, and we leave behind a model for the younger generations. The evaluation committee approves the award of the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Tetova, Mirush Kabashi”, – said Prof. Dr. Salajdin Salihu.
While the decision of the Senate to award Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Tetova, the artist Mirush Kabashi, was made public by the Vice-Rector for UT International Relations, Asst. Prof. Dr. Shefik Shehu. After reading the decision of the Senate, the Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Vullnet Ameti, conferred Mirush Kabashi with the title Doctor Honoris Causa and bestowed the diploma and the logo and flag of our University.
After receiving this title, laureate Mirush Kabashi did not hide the pleasure of being honored with this scientific title at a jubilee event such as the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the UT. This assessment made by the University of Tetova He called it an unforgettable in his memory. “It was a great pleasure when I was nominated, but I never imagined that it would be such a magnificent and beautiful ceremony that there will be an extraordinary memory! It’s not a gift, believe me, it’s an extraordinary responsibility. Now I will not speak or stand in front of the viewer, or the listener, only as an artist, even as the Honor of the Nation, but I will also have the responsibility of a university which, more than a university, is an emblem of the Albanian nation the fight for knowledge, for education. What I call pride for our entire nation is that the gun was imposed on us and we have not fought to get even a gram or even a centimeter from the territories of others. We have tried to protect what is ours. We are among the few peoples, especially in the Balkans, that we are autochthonous. We are autochthonous in our lands and less of the great floods, we were forced to retreat to the boundaries we have today. And here we will stay, because belongs to us! That this is ours land, is our children’s and they will inherit it by inheriting the extraordinary linguistic value. Because it’s one of the 10 most valuable languages in the world that started with humanity together, and that’s a great truth. I bow to this language because it has preserved our national identity”, – said Mirush Kabashi.
This academy was concluded with an artistic program prepared by professors of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Tetova, artists Blerim Grubi, Sihana Badivuku, Selami Kolonja and Taulant Kolonja.