Omar Bongo University (French: ''Université Omar Bongo'') a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

which was founded as the National University of Gabon in 1970. It was renamed in honor of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...

in 1978. It is based in Libreville, and was the country's first university. It is Gabon's largest university and around 30,000 students are enrolled there (2020). Yves Laurent Goma
Gabon: l'université Omar-Bongo n'attire plus les étudiants
''Rfi.fr'', 17 August 2020 The university is under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education.

History

The Omar Bongo University has been the epicenter of manifestations and riots since the early 2000s. In 2010, the university was in an advanced state of deterioration: swamps and weeds had spread all over the campus where reptiles inhabited, and maggots covered the dorms' floors. In 2010, the Minister of Education Séraphin Moundounga launched a project of renovation but the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies ...

never backed up the initiative, leaving the university in an advanced state of degradation. In 2020, the state of the campus was still deteriorated : Old buildings, obsolete computers, no wifi network. In February 2020, the dean of the university Marc-Louis Ropivia resigned. In August 2020, the university announced some renovation work aiming to clad the external walls of the campus' buildings, a work that had already been done in 2013. The university was designed to host 8,000 students, but 30,000 to 40,000 students are enrolled, which causes a great stress on the infrastructures and the quality of the education. The library only has 200 seatings (2020). In 2019 a large building on campus called the "bunker", which was supposedly a rogue haunt, was demolished. However, the drug dealers moved from the "bunker" to the dorms to pursue their business on campus. In March 2019,the campus' cafeteria reopened after several months of renovationand with an innovation : the meals can be purchased only with mobile cash. In June 2019, the Portuguese

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One ...

donated 5000 books to the university. In April 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic in Gabon, the university announced that registrations for the next year will be exclusively online. Rudy Hombenet Anvingui
UOB : Inscription et réinscription uniquement en ligne
''Sonapresse.com'', 13 April 2021

References

External links

*
Profile of Omar Bongo University
bc.edu Universities and colleges in Gabon Educational institutions established in 1970 Buildings and structures in Libreville 1970 establishments in Gabon {{Africa-university-stub

History

See also

References

External links