Reorganization of higher education in Zaire

HIGHER EDUCATION IN ZAIRE HAD BEGUN IN 1954 WITH THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LOVANIUM IN LEOPOLDVILLE. THIS WAS A PRIVATE ROMAN CATHOLIC INSTITUTION FOUNDED BY STAFF MEMBERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUVAIN IN BELGIUM, BUT IT RECEIVED FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION. A SECOND UNIVERSITY, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CONGO, WAS FOUNDED BY THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT IN 1955 IN LUBUMBASHI (THEN ELIZABETHVILLE). MOST COURSES OFFERED IN BOTH UNIVERSITIES WERE IDENTICAL TO THOSE IN BELGIAN UNIVERSITIES. A THIRD UNIVERSITY IN ZAIRE, THE FREE UNIVERSITY OF THE CONGO, WAS ESTABLISHED AT KISANGANI (FORMERLY STANLEYVILLE) IN 1963. DURING THE COLONIAL ERA, HIGHER INSTITUTES IN ZAIRE ALSO PROVIDED POST-HIGH-SCHOOL TRAINING FOR TEACHERS, MEDICAL ASSISTANTS, AND SOCIAL WELFARE WORKERS, AND THESE ARE STILL FUNCTIONING, WITH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION, UNESCO, AND USAID HAVING SUPPORTED, AFTER ZAIRIAN INDEPENDENCE IN 1960, A RENEWED NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THEM. HIGHER EDUCATION IN ZAIRE EXPANDED RAPIDLY DURING THE FIRST DECADE AFTER INDEPENDENCE. THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM GREW AT A RATE OF 30% A YEAR, THE HIGHER INSTITUTES AT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 45%. TOTAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN BOTH GREW FROM 763 IN 1960/1961 TO 10,212 IN 1969/1970. UNDER THE REORGANIZATION OF 1971, THE THREE FORMERLY SEPARATE UNIVERSITIES WERE REORGANIZED AS CAMPUSES OF UNAZA, AND NAMED AFTER THE CITIES IN WHICH THEY ARE LOCATED (KINSHASA, LUBUMBASHI, KISANGANI). THE HIGHER INSTITUTES HAVE BEEN REORGANIZED INTO HIGHER INSTITUTES OF PEDAGOGY, LOCATED IN ELEVEN CITIES, AND NINE HIGHER INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY, SIX IN KINSHASA AND OTHERS IN BENGAMISA, MONDONGO, AND BUKAVU. THE RELATIVELY CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT OF THE REORGANIZED SYSTEM IS ENGAGED IN DIRECTING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM TOWARD THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS, WHILE TAKING CARE TO PRESERVE THE LOCAL INDIVIDUALITY OF THE CAMPUSES AND HIGHER INSTITUTES. THE UNIVERSITY FACULTIES ARE RESEARCH-ORIENTED, AND ARE DEVELOPING THEIR RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS AND PROGRAMS IN A BROAD RANGE OF FIELDS.