Top Ten Oldest Universities in Africa You Didn’t Know About
Do you think you know African history very well? Here is the list of the oldest universities in Africa.
10. UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, 1948
The university of Ghana is the oldest university of the 13 tertiary institutions in Ghana, it was fniversity college of the gold coast ,but gained full university status in 1961.while currently boasting of over 40,000 students
9. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, 1948:
The university of Ibadan is Nigeria’s oldest and most prestigious university with over 40,000 students, founded officially in 1948. it has roots as the then Yaba College which was founded in 1932 in Yaba, Lagos as the first tertiary educational institute in Nigeria.Yaba college was later relocated to Ibadan becoming the University of Ibadan.
8. MAKERERE UNIVERSITY, 1922:
Uganda’s largest and third-oldest institution of higher learning , first established as a technical school in 1922 (the oldest is Katigondo National Major Seminary established in 1911; and Bishop Tucker Theological College,established in 1913). Today, Makerere university offers programmes to over 40,000 students.
7. UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS, 1909:
Well renowned as Algeria’s first university. the university of Algiers actually began as a collection of 4 schools brought together by a Law in 1909. currently the university tutors over 100,000 students in law,meedicine and Islamic sciences.
6. CAIRO UNIVERSITY, 1908:
Cairo university founded in December,1908 is regarded as Egypt second oldest university. The university has had its name changed twice first from Egyptian university its original name in 1908, to Faud university in 1940 and recently to cairo university in 1952. its student population is about 280,000.
5. STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, 1866:
The origin of the university can be traced back to the Stellenbosch Gymnasium, which was opened on 1 March 1866, and later became the Stellenbosch College in 1881. it acquired university status on 2 April 1918 and was renamed, to Stellenbosch University. In December 2014, specialists at the university performed the first successful joystick transplantation, on a 21-year-old man. its student load stands at 30,000.
4. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, 1829 :
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is South Africa’s oldest university and is the highest-ranked African university in the QS World University Rankings. It was founded in 1829 as the South African College, a high school for boys. The College developed into a fully fledged university during the period 1880 to 1900. Current admissions put the students at 27,000.
3. FOURAH BAY COLLEGE-UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE, 1827:
Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone) was founded in 1827 as an anglican missionary school, for the purpose of training Africans as schoolmasters, catechists and clergymen.Samuel Ajayi Crowther was its first student, It is the oldest & first western-style university in West Africa and currently apart of the university of Sierra leone.
2. AL-AZHAR UNIVERSITY, 970AD:
Al-azhar university is the oldest university in Egypt.located in Cairo, Egypt.Its regarded as “Sunni Islam’s most prestigious university” because it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world. it attained a modern university status in 1961 after non-Islamic courses were added to its curriculum and currently have over 90,000 student currently studying there. Its library is the second most important library in Egypt.
1. UNIVERSITY OF AL-QARAWIYYIN,859AD:
It is the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records and is sometimes referred to as the oldest university in the world. its located in Fes,Morocco.