University of Swaziland - History

History

Tertiary education in Swaziland began with the establishment of the University of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland in 1963 and continued via the University of Botswana and Swaziland between 1976 and 1982. 84 It was only after the splitting of the latter institution in the early 1980s that the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) was finally established. The Swaziland Agricultural College and University Centre, which came into being in 1966, had developed independently, and it now constitutes UNISWA’s Faculty of Agriculture and is situated on the Luyengo campus of the university. Main recipient of the courses offered are officers working for the Ministry of Agriculture and Education.

There are two other campuses which, like Luyengo, are situated in the Mbabane/ Manzini corridor in the east-central area of the country. The main and oldest campus is at Kwaluseni, which was financed jointly by the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, the Anglo American Corporation, and the Swaziland government. This campus houses the faculties of Commerce, Education, Humanities, and Science. The Mbabane campus houses the Faculty of Health Sciences, established in 1996. Certificate, diploma and degree programmes are offered in general and specialised nursing, community mental health science and environmental health services.

Since achieving full university status a quarter of a century ago, UNISWA has grown in accordance with its chief mandate, which is to assist in the national development effort through manpower production. The output of teachers, nurses and agricultural experts has risen steadily, while the double-subject-major degrees on offer in both the humanities and the sciences have been designed to provide teachers with more than one speciality – an important qualification where teacher shortages are endemic.

The electronic engineering programme offered by the Faculty of Science reflects the need to rapidly develop the science and technology expertise within the country.