History
Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray National Regional State, was founded in the 13th century. However, its heyday came soon after Emperor Yohannes IV was crowned as king of the kings of Ethiopia (1871-1889).
Emperor Yohannes IV choose Mekelle as the seat of his government and built his graceful palace in the 1870s. The palace, still intact today, now serves as a museum. The Emperor’s throne, royal bed, ceremonial dress, rifles and many other valuable historical collections can be seen in the museum.
Mekelle University College began life in 1993 as the Arid Zone Agricultural College which found a permanent home in Mek'ele after a series of relocations. During the former regime, the college was originally scheduled to be located near Seleh Leha, in northwestern Tigray. However it was first established at University of Asmara as a faculty, but was then moved to Agarfa in southern Ethiopia, when the Derg displaced Asmara University in 1990 due to the political instability at the time. A year later in 1991, Asmara University returned to Asmara and the Arid Zone Agricultural Faculty moved temporarily to Alamaya University. In 1993, the Arid Zone Agricultural College was again relocated, this time to Mek'ele, as the College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, and permanently settled at the Endayesus Campus, which had been a military barracks since the time of Emperor Menelik.
The Arid Zone Agricultural College started with three degree programs in 1993 with 42 students. After two years, the Faculty of Science and Technology was established at the same campus and, together, these two faculties were then upgraded to Mekelle University College. Side by side the Law Faculty then began by accepting diploma students in the continuing education program.
At present, Mekelle University is one of the 31 secular public Universities in Ethiopia. In Mekelle University, there are seven colleges, six institutes and 54 departments with many programs under them.The student intake capacity of Mekelle University has reached 28,000 (10% of the population of Mekelle City).
Read more about this topic: Mekelle University
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