Top 10 Oldest Universities In Africa [With Pictures And Their Location]
Are you looking for the list of Oldest Universities In Africa? If yes, then this informative article is for you. You will be given detailed information about the list of Oldest Universities In Africa.
Africa prides itself on having some of the well-educated people in the world. Interestingly most of them have attained their qualifications from institutions on the continent, thanks to the numerous accredited centres available. However, with many institutions and others coming up, it is worth noting that there are those that have been in existence for a long time.
10 Oldest Universities In Africa
Africa has some of the oldest centres of higher learning. Below is the list of some of these institutions, their year of establishment, and where they are located.
1. University of Al Quaraouiyine – 859 AD
The University of Al-Quaraouiyine is located in Fez, Morocco. It is the first university in Africa and the world. The institution was effectively run as a madrasa until after World War II.
Who built the first university in Africa? It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 AD. The institution subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centres of the historic Muslim world.
2. Al-Azhar University – 970 ADlist
The institution was established by Fatimids as a centre of Islamic learning in 970 AD. It is located in Cairo in Egypt, and it is one of the ancient universities in Africa. It is regarded as Sunni Islam’s most prestigious centre of higher learning because it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world.
The academic centre attained modern university status in 1961 after non-Islamic courses were added to its curriculum. It is ranked number 1038 in the list of Best Global centres of higher learning. Currently, more than 90,000 learners are enrolled in the centre.
3. Fourah Bay College – 1827
Is Fourah Bay College the oldest university in Africa.? No. However, it’s on the list. The institution was founded in 1827 as an Anglican missionary school, and it is located in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was established to train Africans as schoolmasters and religious leaders.
The institution is the oldest and first western-style academic institution. It is also the first university in West Africa. It is currently a constituent college of the University of Sierra Leone.
4. University of Cape Town (UCT) – 1829
The research institution is located in Cape Town. It was founded in 1829 as the South African College (a high school for boys). It is the oldest higher education institute in South Africa and also one of the earliest universities in Africa.
The institution developed into a fully-fledged centre of higher learning during the period 1880 to 1900. It has a student capacity of approximately 27,000.
5. University of Liberia – 1862
The University of Liberia was founded in 1862 and is located in Monrovia, Liberia. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in West Africa. UL is accredited by the Liberian Commission on Higher Education.
It has four campuses, which include the Capitol Hill Campus in Monrovia, the Fendell campus in Louisiana, the Medical School Campus in Congo Town and the Straz-Sinje Campus located in Sinje Grand Cape Mount County. The institution enrols approximately 18,000 learners.
6. Stellenbosch University – 1866
The institution is located in Stellenbosch, Western Cape province, in South Africa. It started as the Stellenbosch Gymnasium, which opened in 1866. In 1881 it became the Stellenbosch College.
It was awarded a charter and became a university in April 1918. It is worth noting that it was the first African centre of higher learning to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.
7. University of Khartoum (UofK) – 1902
This is a multi-campus, co-educational, public centre of higher learning. It is located in Khartoum, Sudan, and it is the largest and oldest centre of higher learning in the county. The institution began as Gordon Memorial College in 1902.
It was established as a centre of higher learning in 1956 when Sudan gained independence. Since then, it has been recognised as a top academic institution.
8. Cairo University (CU) – 1908
CU is a comprehensive institution of higher learning located in Giza, Egypt. It was founded in 1908. It was previously known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940 and then as King Fuad I University from 1940 to 1952.
The institution is the second oldest centre of higher education in Egypt after Al Azhar University. It is also considered the mother institution among other younger academic institutions in Egypt.
9. University of Algiers – 1909
The institution is located in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. It started as a collection of four schools brought together by a Law in 1909. It is currently organised into seven faculties with over a hundred thousand learners.
10. American University in Cairo – 1919
This is a private research centre of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt. The institution offers American-style learning programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. It was founded in 1919, and it is accredited in the United States and Egypt.
Is Timbuktu The Oldest University In The World?
Timbuktu is believed to be the oldest university in the world. However, it was not a centre of higher learning in the modern sense but a loosely organised educational community that endured for many centuries during the medieval period. That is why it does not feature on the list of the oldest academic institutions in Africa.
This institution in Mali was situated in a city that was already thriving in the 12th century. The city of Timbuktu had the most academic centres than any other town in any nation. It was proof of the talents, creativity, and ingenuity of the West-African people.
Timbuktu surprised European explorers for centuries. As a result, in 1824, the Paris-based Société de Géographie offered a 10,000-franc prize for the first European to find the town. In Islamic tradition, Timbuktu played a significant role in spreading Islam in West Africa starting in 1329.
Timbuktu had an average attendance of around 25,000 students within a city of approximately 100,000 people. Within its curriculum, there were various degrees of learning called primary, secondary and superior and what they called the Circle of Knowledge. Other subjects included literature, science, mathematics and medicine.
Which Is The Oldest University In East Africa?
The oldest centre of higher learning in East Africa is Makerere University, and it is located in Kampala, Uganda. The centre began as a technical school in 1922. It was later renamed Uganda Technical College, and it opened doors to few day students who enrolled for Carpentry, Building, and Mechanics courses.
It became affiliated to the University College of London in 1949 and began offering courses that led to the achievement of general degrees of its then mother institution. In 1970, it became an international centre of higher learning in the Republic of Uganda offering both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Apart from being one of the oldest in East Africa, it is also one of Africa’s most prestigious academic institutions.
The centre officially transformed into a Collegiate University with nine constituent colleges in 2011. Today, the institution has 22 faculties, institutes, and schools offering programmes to about 30,000 undergraduates and 3,000 postgraduates. Some of its notable alumni include former president Mwai Kibaki, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and former Tanzanian presidents Julius Nyerere and Benjamin Mkapa.
These are some of the oldest universities in Africa, their years of establishment, and the exact place where they are located. Interestingly, they are still in operation today and are ranked as some of the most prestigious centres of higher learning in African and the world.
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