| University of Kinshasa | |
| Native Name: | Université de Kinshasa |
| Image Upright: | 0.6 |
| Mottoeng: | "Science shines and so does conscience" |
| Head Label: | Academic Secretary General |
| Faculty: | 1,929[1] |
| Rector: | Jean-Marie Kayembe Ntumba |
| Country: | Congo |
| Students: | 29,554 |
| Colours: | Red, yellow and blue |
The University of Kinshasa (French: Université de Kinshasa), colloquially known as UNIKIN, is a public university located in Kinshasa's Lemba commune within the western region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] [3] [4] It is the country's premier university.[5] Initially established in 1954 as Lovanium University during Belgian colonial rule, the current university was established following the division of the National University of Zaire (UNAZA) in 1981.[6] [7]
The university had an enrollment of 29,554 and a faculty and research staff of 1,929 in the 2018–19 academic year, and currently has twelve academic divisions.[8] The Notre-Dame de la Sagesse is strategically located on the campus and provides pastoral ministries to professors and students.
The university is located about south of central Kinshasa, in the suburb of Lemba.
Many of the campus facilities have deteriorated and are in poor condition, or lack proper instructional tools - in 2003, the science library had as few as 300 titles in its collection. Since 2001, the university has hosted Cisco Academy, a joint project sponsored by the American software company Cisco and the United Nations Development Programme. The academy focuses on providing recent technology, training students to install and operate computer networks and all coursework is online.
The university was established in 1954 as Lovanium University by Belgian colonial authorities following criticism that they had done too little to educate the Congolese people. The university was originally affiliated with the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. When it opened, the university received heavy subsidies from the colonial government[9] and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development and was lauded as the best university in Africa.[10]
In August 1971, the university was merged with the Protestant Autonomous University of Congo (Université Libre du Congo) and The University of Congo at Lubumbashi (founded in 1956) into the National University of Zaire (Université Nationale du Zaïre, UNAZA). Ties were cut with the Catholic University of Leuven, and funding for the university began to drop precipitously. At this point, the university had an enrollment capacity of just 5,000.
The decision to merge the private universities into one centralized system was made, at least partially, to counter concerns about political demonstrations on campuses. The entire higher education system was run by a single rector and faculty and staff were put on the federal payroll.
By 1981, the centralized system became too burdensome and the decision was made to re-establish the three separate institutions: the University of Kinshasa, Kisangani University, and the University of Lubumbashi.
Newly independent, the University of Kinshasa continued to struggle financially throughout the 1980s. By 1985, the campus was in decline, strewn with trash and the dormitories in poor condition. The university's cafeteria stopped serving meals and pay for professors slipped as low as $15.
In response to declining government funds, tuition was raised 500 percent in 1985,[11] and in 1989, deeper cuts were made, with the suspension of nearly all scholarships and financial aid and institution of new fees. Through the 1980s, as much as 90 percent of the university's budget was paid for by the government, with only a small amount of revenues coming from student tuition. By 2002, the government only contributed $8,000 (USD) of the university's estimated $4.3 million annual budget (not including some personnel costs which are paid directly by the state).
On 9 December 2015, students at UNIKIN appealed for the renovation of several heavily deteriorated homes, including homes x, xx, xxx, 150, 80, Vatican, and eight others.[12] These aging structures built decades ago, required significant exterior and interior refurbishment to ensure their structural integrity and overall condition. Erosion also posed a threat to some of these homes. The Office of Roads and Drainage (OVD), supported by government funds, was actively engaged in addressing erosion issues in the "Trafic" area at UNIKIN. This initiative involved backfilling with earth and constructing gutters to control existing erosion affecting houses opposite UNIKIN. Torrential rains had further exacerbated access routes to this area, particularly at the Plateau des résidences des enseignants.
On 10 February 2020, President Félix Tshisekedi launched initiatives to enhance the housing conditions of Congolese students, with a specific focus on rehabilitating student residences at UNIKIN.[13] This initiative followed the displacement of over 6,412 students who were forced to leave their accommodations after altercations with the police in early January 2020. The students' protest against the increased academic fees led to a suspension of academic activities. The renovation project was administered by the Intendance Générale (IG), the Entreprise Générale de Construction de Kinshasa (EGECOK), and a company referred to as the "Contractor". The administrative secretary general of UNIKIN, Godefroid Kabengele Dibwe, reported that 12 out of 14 residences had been rehabilitated and were awaiting furnishing for student accommodation. After almost four years of closure, the UNIKIN Management Committee announced reopening student residences on 3 October 2023.[14] According to the announcement, the housing fee for a calendar year is $240, a significant increase from $32. While some students welcomed the reopening of the residences, they expressed discontent over the substantial cost hike.
On 1 March 2022, Professor Jean-Marie Kayembe Ntumba, the Rector of UNIKIN, received a delegation from the Ministry of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi. The meeting, held near the office of the Minister of Finance, marked the commencement of the rehabilitation and modernization project of the UNIKIN Omnisport Complex, which was in a severely dilapidated condition.[15] The projected timeframe for the work exceeded ten months and involved the refurbishment of the swimming pool and its facilities, the grandstand, changing rooms, the machine room, electrification, renewal of floor and wall ceramics, earthenware, and equipment for the improved functioning of the Olympic-sized swimming pool. Nicolas also announced plans to upgrade the large stadium to international standards, featuring a synthetic turf playing area and stabilized embankments. Additionally, two annex stadiums were to be constructed, along with a protective wall and embankments for the basketball-volleyball and tennis-handball stadium, and a drainage network for all the grounds leading to the outlet on the Kimwenza road.
On 8 December 2022, Professor Jean-Marie Kayembe Ntumba officially inaugurated the rehabilitation works of the internal roads at the site, pre-financed by EGECOK, which was carrying out these works in a short period of time, in consideration of the upcoming Jeux de la Francophonie.[16]
See main article: Regional Center for Nuclear Studies. The first nuclear reactor in Africa was built at the University of Kinshasa in 1958. The reactor, known as TRICO I, is a TRIGA reactor built by General Atomics. TRICO stands for a combination of TRIGA or “Training Isotopes General Atomic” and Congo.[17] The reactor was built while the country was still under Belgian control, and with the assistance of the United States government, under the Atoms For Peace program. TRIGA I was estimated to have a 50-kilowatt capacity and was shut down in 1970. In 1967, the African Union established a nuclear research center, the Regional Center for Nuclear Studies and the United States agreed to provide another TRIGA reactor. The second reactor, TRICO II, is believed to have a one-megawatt capacity and was brought online in 1972.[18]
In 2001, the TRICO II reactor was reported to be operational, but was apparently put on standby in 1998.[19] The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo stopped funding the program in the late 1980s, and the United States has since refused to ship replacement parts.
International observers have long been concerned about the safety and security of the two nuclear reactors and the enriched uranium they contain.
There are twelve academic divisions at the university:
In the 2022 Eduranking, the university achieved a ranking of 62 out of 1,104 African universities. According to this ranking, UNIKIN holds the top position among the six higher education and university institutions in Kinshasa. Nationally, it leads the selection of 25 universities, and globally, it holds the 3063rd position out of 14,131 evaluated establishments.