Public university in Eswatini
The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini.
It was established by act of parliament in 1982.[2] The university developed from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS), formerly known as the University of Basutoland,
Bechuanaland and Swaziland (UBBS), which was established in 1964.[3]
It became the University of Botswana and Swaziland when the Lesotho campus withdrew to form the National University of Lesotho on 20 October 1975, and then became an independent national
university in 1982.[3]
The university has eight faculties, which are located in the three campuses of the university. Luyengo campus houses the Agriculture and Consumer Sciences faculties, Mbabane campus is home to the faculty of Health Sciences, and Kwaluseni campus is the main campus. The University of Eswatini is mainly an undergraduate institution, offering bachelor's degrees. There are a few postgraduate programmes including two Ph.D. programmes.
The head of the university is the Chancellor, who is His Majesty King Mswati III. Its daily management is the responsibility of the Vice Chancellor, who is Professor Justice Thwala.[1] UNISWA is home to research centers and institutes.[4]
The university also publishes research periodicals such as the UNISWA Research Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology and the UNISWA Research Journal.
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History
Tertiary education in Eswatini began with the establishment of the University of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland in 1964 and continued via the University of Botswana and Swaziland between 1976 and 1982. It was only after the splitting of the latter institution in 1982 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 UNESWA's Faculty of Agriculture and is situated on the Luyengo campus of the university.
Main recipients 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 west-central area of the country. The main campus is at Kwaluseni, which was financed jointly by the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, the Anglo American Corporation, and the Eswatini government. The 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 in the early 1980s, UNESWA 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 and electrical engineering programme offered by the Faculty of Science and Engineering reflects the need to rapidly develop the science and technology expertise within the country.[7][8]
Governance and administration
The University of Eswatini is governed by the University Council which is appointed by the Chancellor. The Chancellor of the university is His Majesty King Mswati III. In this capacity, he confers all degrees during the University graduation ceremony. The daily management of the university is the responsibility of the Vice-Chancellor with the assistance of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Both are appointed by the University Council and are accountable to it. The Vice-Chancellor is professor J.M Thwala. In addition there is a University Senate which is responsible for academic authority of the university. It is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. The Faculties of the university are run by the Deans who are also chairpersons of the respective Faculty boards. They are accountable to the University Senate. Other officers of the university are responsible for various affairs such as the Dean of Student Affairs, Registrar, Physical Planner among others.
Students are represented by the Student Representative Council (SRC) which falls under the Student Welfare Office which is run by the Dean of Student Affairs. Issues pertaining to student accommodation and residences on the campuses is the responsibility of the warden also under the Student Welfare Office.
Academics
The university is divided into the faculties of Agriculture, Consumer Sciences, Health Sciences, Education, Humanities, Commerce, Science & Engineering, and Social Science. There is also the Institute of Distance Education (IDE) which is responsible for all distance education instruction. The Institute of Postgraduate Studies is responsible for postgraduate programmes at masters and doctorate level. The university is also home to the biggest library in Eswatini. The library has branches in all three campuses with the main and biggest library at Kwaluseni, the main campus.
Faculty of Agriculture
The faculty is located at the Luyengo campus which is located between Malkerns and Bhunya.[9]
The faculty houses the departments of Agriculture and Biosystem Engineering, Agricultural Economics and Management, Agricultural Education and Extension, Animal Science, Consumer Sciences, Crop Production and Horticulture. The faculty offers undergraduate degree majors in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Education, Agronomy, Animal Science, Animal Science (Dairy), and Horticulture.[9]
Faculty of Commerce
The faculty is located at the main campus in Kwaluseni.[10] It has two departments
namely the Accounting and Business Administration departments and offers only undergraduate
programmes. The undergraduate majors for the Bachelor of Commerce degree are in Accounting, Management and Marketing. The faculty also offers a Diploma in Commerce course.[10]
Faculty of Consumer Sciences
The faculty is located at the Luyengo campus.[11] The faculty is made up of the following departments:
- Consumer Science Education and Community Development (CED)
- Food and Nutrition Sciences (NFS)
- Textiles and Apparel Design (TAD)
The faculty offers degrees at undergraduate (B.Sc.) and post-graduate (M.Sc.) level.[11]
Faculty of Education
The faculty is located at the Kwaluseni campus and has the following academic departments:[12]
- Adult Education
- Curriculum and Teaching
- Educational Foundations and Management
- In-Service Education
- Primary Education
- Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The faculty offers undergraduate programmes leading to the B.Ed. degree and some departments within the Faculty also offer post-graduate programmes leading to the M.Ed. degree.[12]
Faculty of Health Sciences
The faculty is located at the Mbabane campus of the university
near the Eswatini Government Hospital.[13] The Faculty of Health Sciences has the
following academic departments:
- Community Health Nursing Science
- Environmental Health Science
- General Nursing
- Midwifery Science
The faculty offers only undergraduate programmes in nursing and environmental health.[13]
Faculty of Humanities
The faculty has the following departments:
Academic Communication Skills, African Languages and Literature, English Language and Literature, History, Journalism and Mass Communication and Theology and Religious Studies.
The undergraduate programmes offered are the
Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, Bachelor of Arts (Humanities), Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication). The double major combinations are offered for the B.A. (Humanities) degree. The faculty also offers the B.A. (Humanities) through the institute of distance education.
The only graduate programme on offer is the Master of Arts in History through the institute for post-graduate studies.
Faculty of Science and Engineering
The faculty is the main centre for teaching and research in scientific and technological disciplines in Eswatini. The faculty is located in the science block in the heart of the university. The faculty is divided into the departments of Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Environmental Science and Planning (GEP), Physics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science.
The undergraduate programmes offers are the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and the Bachelor of
Engineering (B.Eng.) with the latter under the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department.
The undergraduate programme usually involves double major combinations from the departments for the B.Sc. degree. Examples are double majors in Physics and Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology and Mathematics and Computer Science.
The aim for the faculty was to train students with the goal of them being teachers, with some going on to study Engineering and Medicine outside the country.
The Faculty of Science offers two post-graduate courses leading to the Master of Science (M.Sc.) and these are in Chemistry (either Environmental/Analytical Chemistry or Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry) and in Environmental Resource Management (ERM).
Research in the faculty of science is based on five themes namely, Environmental Conservation, Energy, Water Quality Management, Computational Science and Mathematical Modelling and Research in Indigenous Medicinal and Nutritious Food Plants. The faculty is home to the
Institute of Research in Traditional Medicine, Medicinal and Indigenous Food Plants. Future plans of the faculty are to establish new research centres for Computational Scienceand Mathematical Modelling, Energy, Environmental Conservation and Water Quality Management.
Faculty of Social Sciences
The faculty sciences is made up of the departments of Economics, Law, Political and Administrative Studies, Sociology and Statistics and Demography. The department of Law offers the only Law programme in the university and in the country. The Bachelor of Laws ( LL.B. ) is the main undergraduate programme in the law department and a Diploma in Law is offered through the Institute of Distance Education. There is no graduate law programme. The remaining departments offer undergraduate majors leading to the Bachelor of Arts (Social Science) or famously B.A.S.S. Double major combination are common in the departments with possibility of a combination with mathematics which is offered in the Faculty of Science.
Institute of Distance Education
The IDE is the main center for distance learning at the university and in the country. It is housed at the main campus at the IDE center. With the motto To Take University Education to the People rather than the People Come to the University, it serves academic departments by offering distance learning variants of the existing programmes.[14] IDE offers six qualifications which are: Certificate in French, Diploma in Commerce, Diploma in Law, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Bachelor of Education in Adult Education.[14]
Institute of Post-graduate Studies
The institute is responsible for all graduate programmes in the university.[15] The institute currently offers a number of Masters degrees and a Doctorate.
The masters programmes are offered in association with the departments of Adult Education, Agricultural Economics and Management, Agricultural Education and Extension, Chemistry, Crop Production, Curriculum and Teaching, Education Foundation and Management,
and History. The doctorate programme offered is in Agricultural Education under the Agricultural Education and Extension department at the Faculty of Agriculture.[15]
