The National University of Zaire (french: Université nationale du Zaïre, or UNAZA) was a

federated university An affiliated school (also affiliated college, federated school, federated college or federated university) is an educational institution that operates independently, but also has a formal collaborative agreement with another, usually larger institu ...

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

(the present-day

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

). It was formed in August 1971 when the country's three existing universities and 17 technical colleges were merged into a single administrative structure. It was briefly known as the National University of the Congo (''Université nationale du Congo'', or UNACO) until the

became Zaire in October 1971. The reforms were designed to allow the Congolese dictator,

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic ...

, and his governing

Popular Movement of the Revolution The Popular Movement of the Revolution (french: Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution, abbr. MPR) was the ruling political party in Zaire (known for part of its existence as the Democratic Republic of the Congo). For most of its existence, it w ...

party greater control over the Congolese university system which had previously been a source of political dissent. The reform also allowed the Zairean state to implement its programme of '' Authenticité'' by breaking the ties which had traditionally connected the country's university education to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and

Protestant Churches Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Under the UNAZA, specialised campuses were established for particular disciplines: Faculties of Social Sciences, Agriculture, and Medicine were established at

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: (French), ( Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katang ...

Yangambi Yangambi is a town in Isangi Territory, Isangi territory of Tshopo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location Yangambi is on the north side of the Congo River and lies on the R408 road which connects it to Kisangani 100 kilometers to th ...

, and Kinshasa respectively. It received foreign aid from the American

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Ca ...

and from the Zairean government. The UNAZA encountered problems soon after its creation. Much of the promised financial support from the Zairean government never materialised and the university was also subject to political interference. Administrative support and library resources were poor and members of faculty were frequently left unpaid. The poor transport infrastructure in Zaire also made the university's federal structure difficult to sustain. In 1981, the university split back into its constituent institutions: the

University of Kinshasa The University of Kinshasa (french: Université de Kinshasa), commonly known as UNIKIN, is one of the three major universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, together with the University of Kisangani and University of Lubumbashi. Origi ...

, the University of Kisangani, and

University of Lubumbashi The University of Lubumbashi (), also known by the acronym UNILU, is one of the largest universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Lubumbashi in Haut Katanga Province, previously Katanga Province. The campus is locate ...

. The UNAZA structure was maintained in a basic administrative form to facilitate cooperation between the different independent universities. A centralised

university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit organizations and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by scholars ...

, the University Presses of Zaire (''Presses universitaires du Zaïre'', PUZ), was nonetheless established in Kinshasa in the same year to support publications from the newly independent institutions.

Notable faculty

Pius Ngandu Nkashama Pius Ngandu Nkashama is a professor, writer, playwright, poet and literary critic. He was born in 1946 in Mbujimayi in the province of Kasai Oriental in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After a degree in philosophy and letters at Lovanium ...

(1946—), Zairean writer and literary critic *

Benoît Verhaegen Benoît Verhaegen (1929–2009) was a Belgian academic and Africanist who specialised in the political sociology and post-colonial history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Verhaegen fought in the Korean War and arrived in the Belgian Congo ...

(1929–2009), Belgian historian and political sociologist *

Jean-Claude Willame Jean-Claude Willame (born 28 March 1938) is a Belgian professor emeritus specialised in the political history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He obtained his PhD in political science at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. He ...

(1938—), Belgian historian

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *, 2 vols. Universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Educational institutions established in 1971 Educational institutions disestablished in 1981 1971 establishments in Zaire 1981 disestablishments in Zaire National universities {{TOC hidden

Notable faculty

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography