University of Fort Hare

Last updated

University of Fort Hare
University of Fort Hare logo.svg
MottoIn lumine tuo videbimus lumen ("In your light we shall see the light"), from Psalm 36
Type Public university
Established1916;108 years ago (1916)
Chancellor Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza
Vice-Chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu [1]
Students13,331 (2015)
Location
Main campus: Alice
Other: Bhisho
East London
,
Eastern Cape
,
South Africa

32°47′15″S26°50′51″E / 32.78750°S 26.84750°E / -32.78750; 26.84750
Colors   Blue
  White
  Yellow
Website www.ufh.ac.za

The University of Fort Hare (Afrikaans : Universiteit van Fort Hare) is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Contents

It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub-Saharan Africa, creating an African elite. Fort Hare alumni were part of many subsequent independence movements and governments of newly independent African countries. [2] [3]

In 1959, the university was subsumed by the apartheid system, but it is now part of South Africa's post-apartheid public higher education system. It is the alma mater of well-known people including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo, and others.

History

Union Hall at the University of Fort Hare Fort hare, old building - rsa.jpg
Union Hall at the University of Fort Hare

Originally, Fort Hare was a British fort in the wars between British settlers and the Xhosa of the 19th century. Some of the ruins of the fort are still visible today, as well as graves of some of the British soldiers who died while on duty there.

During the 1830s, the Lovedale Missionary Institute was built near Fort Hare. [4] : 419  James Stewart, one of its missionary principals, suggested in 1878 that an institution for higher education of black students needed to be created. [4] : 419  However, he did not live to see his idea put into operation [4] : 419  when, in 1916, Fort Hare was established with Alexander Kerr as its first principal. D. D. T. Jabavu was its first black staff member who lectured in Latin and African languages. [4] : 419  In accord with its Christian principles, fees were low and heavily subsidised. Several scholarships were also available for indigent students.

Fort Hare had many associations over the years before it became a university in its own right. It was initially called the South African Native College or Fort Hare Native College [5] and attached to the University of South Africa. [4] : 419  It then became the University College of Fort Hare and associated with Rhodes University. [4] : 419  With the introduction of apartheid, higher educational institutions in South Africa were strictly segregated along racial lines; blacks had previously gone to classes with Indians, coloureds and a few white students. From 1953 the school became part of the Bantu education system, and with the passage of the Promotion of Bantu Self Government Act in 1959, it was nationalized and segregated along racial and tribal lines, and teaching in African languages rather than English was encouraged. [6] Fort Hare became a black university in its own right in 1970, strictly controlled by the state government. [4] : 419 

Centenary logo in 2016 University of Fort Hare 100 years.svg
Centenary logo in 2016

It was a key institution in higher education for black Africans from 1916 to 1959. It offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub-Saharan Africa, creating a black African elite. Fort Hare alumni were part of many subsequent independence movements and governments of newly independent African countries. [6] Amongst those who studied at Fort Hare who later became leaders of their countries were Kenneth Kaunda, Seretse Khama, Yusuf Lule, Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo.

Liberation movement archives FortHareUniversityArchives.JPG
Liberation movement archives

Leading opponents of the apartheid regime who attended included Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and Oliver Tambo of the African National Congress, Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Robert Sobukwe of the Pan Africanist Congress, and Desmond Tutu. Mandela, who studied Latin and physics there for almost two years in the 1940s, left the institution as a result of a conflict with a college leader. He later wrote in his autobiography: "For young black South Africans like myself, it was Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, all rolled into one." [6]

After the end of apartheid, Oliver Tambo became chancellor of the university in 1991. [6] In 2005, the University of Fort Hare was awarded the Order of the Baobab in Gold for "Exceptional contribution to Black academic training and leadership development on the African continent." [7]

University

Faculty of Law FortHareUniversityLawFaculty.JPG
Faculty of Law

The university's main campus is located in Alice near the Tyhume River. It is in the Eastern Cape Province about 50 km west of King William's Town, in a region that for a while was known as the "independent" state of Ciskei. In 2011, the Alice campus had some 6400 students. A second campus at the Eastern Cape provincial capital of Bhisho was built in 1990 and hosts a few hundred students, while the campus in East London, acquired through incorporation in 2004, has some 4300 students.

The university has five faculties (Education, Law, Management & Commerce, Science & Agriculture, Social Sciences & Humanities) all of which offer qualifications up to the doctoral level.

Strategic plans

Following a period of decline in the 1990s, Derrick Swarts was appointed vice-chancellor with the task of re-establishing the university on a sound footing.[ citation needed ] The programme launched by Swarts was the UFH Strategic Plan 2000. The plan was meant to address the university's financial situation and academic quality standards simultaneously. The focus of the university was narrowed and consequently five faculties remained:

Sports grounds and swimming pool FortHareUniversityRugby.JPG
Sports grounds and swimming pool
Fort Hare De Beers Art Gallery FortHareDeBeersArtGallery1.JPG
Fort Hare De Beers Art Gallery

Further narrowing the focus, 14 institutes were founded to deal with specific issues, such as the UNESCO Oliver Tambo Chair of Human Rights. Through their location the institutes have access to poor rural areas, and consequently emphasis is placed on the role of research in improving quality of life and economic growth (and especially sustainable job creation). Among the outreach programmes, the Telkom Centre of Excellence maintains a "living laboratory" of four schools at Dwesa on the Wild Coast, which have introduced computer labs and internet access to areas that until 2005 did not even have electricity.[ citation needed ] The projects at Dwesa focus research on Information and Communication for Development (ICD).

Incorporation of Rhodes University's former campus in East London in 2004 gave the university an urban base and a coastal base for the first time. Subsequent growth and development on this campus have been rapid. Initial developments of the new multi-campus university were guided by a three-year plan; currently the university is following the new "Strategic Plan 2009-2016", set to take the institution to its centennial year.

Times Higher Education Ranking 2024
YearWorld Rank
20241201–1500
[8]

Notable alumni

NameDoB - DoDNotes
Dr. Maurice Robert Joseph Peters23 July 1899 - 31 August 1959First South African Indian Medical Doctor, graduated MBChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1926.
Milner Langa Kabane 18 June 1900 – 1945Educator, First Native Principal at Lovedale College, South African Politician, S.A. Bill of Rights pioneer: 1943. [9] [10] [11]
Z. K. Matthews 20 October 1901 – 11 May 1968Lectured at Fort Hare from 1936 to 1959
Archibald Campbell Jordan 30 October 1906 – 20 October 1968Novelist, pioneer of African studies
Govan Mbeki 9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001South African politician
Yusuf Lule 10 April 1912 – 21 January 1985Interim president of Uganda 1979
Cedric Phatudi 27 May 1912 – 7 October 1987Former Chief Minister of Lebowa 1972–1987
Kaiser Matanzima 15 June 1915 – 15 June 2003 President of bantustan Transkei
Mary Malahlela 2 May 1916 – 8 May 1981First female black doctor in South Africa
Oliver Tambo 27 October 1917 – 24 April 1993 African National Congress activist, expelled while doing his second degree
Nelson Mandela 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013Former President of South Africa; expelled and later attended the University of the Witwatersrand but did not graduate
Charles Njonjo 23 January 1920 –2 January 2022 [12] Former Attorney General of Kenya and Former Minister of Justice in Kenya
Lionel Ngakane 17 July 1920 – 26 November 2003South African film maker
Seretse Khama 1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980First President of Botswana
Julius Nyerere 19 July 1922 – 14 October 1999First President of Tanzania
Herbert Chitepo 15 June 1923 – 18 March 1975 ZANU leader
Robert Mugabe 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019Former President of Zimbabwe, attended 1949–1951
Kenneth Kaunda 28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021First President of Zambia
Can Themba 21 June 1924 – 1968South African writer and one of the "Drum Boys" who worked for Drum (a magazine for urban black people
Robert Sobukwe 5 December 1924 – 27 February 1978Founder of the Pan Africanist Congress
Alfred Nzo 19 June 1925 – 13 January 2000South African politician
Munyua Waiyaki 12 December 1926 – 26 April 2017former Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs
Allan Hendrickse 22 October 1927 – 16 March 2005Politician, preacher, and teacher
Mangosuthu Buthelezi 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023Leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, never graduated but transferred to University of Natal. Leader of KwaZulu Bantustan in apartheid South Africa
Leepile Moshweu Taunyane 14 December 1928 – 30 October 2013Life President of Premier Soccer League, President of the South African Professional Educators Union
Desmond Tutu 7 October 1931 – 26 December 2021 Archbishop Emeritus, South African peace activist, Chaplain at Fort Hare in 1967–1969. [13]
Frank Mdlalose 29 November 1931 – 4 April 2021First Premier of KwaZulu-Natal
Fabian Defu Ribeiro 19 June 1933 – 1 December 1986South African doctor and anti-apartheid activist
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri 18 September 1937 – 6 April 2009Minister of Communications, South Africa
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009Minister of Health of South Africa
Chris Hani 28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993Leader of the South African Communist Party - Expelled, later graduated at Rhodes University
Wiseman Nkuhlu 5 February 1944 –economic advisor to former President Thabo Mbeki, Head of NEPAD
Makhenkesi Arnold Stofile 27 December 1944 – 15 August 2016former Minister of Sport of South Africa
Sam Nolutshungu 15 April 1945 – 12 August 1997South African scholar
Nyameko Barney Pityana 7 August 1945 –lawyer and theologian, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa
Sabelo Phama 31 March 1949 – 9 February 1994South African politician and Secretary of Defense in the Pan African Congress
Bulelani Ngcuka 2 May 1954 –South Africa's former Director of Public Prosecutions
Loyiso Nongxa 22 October 1954 –Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand
Thandi Ndlovu 1954/1955 - 24 January 2019South African medical doctor and businesswoman
Joseph Diescho 10 April 1955 –Namibian novelist
John Hlophe 1 January 1959 –Judge President of the Cape Provincial Division of the High Court
Zara Thruster 15 July 1977 –

Patenting nerve regeneration compound "18-MĆ" extracted from the root of the Alepidea amatymbica plant

Dr. Mgwebi Snail 12 October 1952 –South African Historian, Politician Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and Author
Wandile Sihlobo16 October 1990South African Agricultural Economist and Government Rural Development Advisor
Archie Mafeje 30 March 1936–28 March 2007Anthropologist and activist who was involved in the Mafeje Affair

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Cape</span> Province in South Africa

The Eastern Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. Due to its climate and nineteenth century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for being home to many anti-apartheid activists, the most famous being Nelson Mandela hailing from the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the Witwatersrand</span> Public university in Johannesburg, South Africa

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in the mining industry, as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley, it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Tambo</span> South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (1917–1993)

Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Sobukwe</span> Founding president of the Pan Africanist Congress (1924–1978)

Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe OMSG was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and founding member of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), serving as the first president of the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defiance Campaign</span> Defiance campaign in 1952

The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, taking place in 1952, were the first "large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodes University</span> University in Makhanda, South Africa

Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the province's oldest university, and it is the sixth oldest South African university in continuous operation, being preceded by the University of the Free State (1904), University of Witwatersrand (1896), University of South Africa (1873) as the University of the Cape of Good Hope, Stellenbosch University (1866) and the University of Cape Town (1829). Rhodes was founded in 1904 as Rhodes University College, named after Cecil Rhodes, through a grant from the Rhodes Trust. It became a constituent college of the University of South Africa in 1918 before becoming an independent university in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the Free State</span> Multi-campus public university in South Africa

The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary section of Grey College. It was declared an independent Afrikaans-language university in 1950 and the name was changed to the University of the Orange Free State. The university has two satellite campuses. Initially a whites-only precinct, the university was fully de-segregated in 1996. The first black university vice-chancellor was appointed in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice, South Africa</span> Town in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Alice is a small town in Eastern Cape, South Africa that is named after Princess Alice, the daughter of the British Queen Victoria. It was settled in 1824 by British colonists. It is adjacent to the Tyhume River. It has a rail and road connection to East London, Qonce and other towns in the province. It forms part of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal resistance to apartheid</span> 1950–1994 social movement in South Africa

Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid, which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994.

Bizana is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality.

This article covers the history of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, once a South African liberation movement and now a minor political party.

Curtis Nkondo was a South African diplomat, school teacher and politician with the African National Congress. Born in Louis Trichardt, Nkondo was a lifelong activist with the ANC. He was a high school teacher at Lamula High School in Meadowlands, Gauteng and eventually became the chairman of the Soweto Teachers Action Committee before being suspended for educating against apartheid. A year after the formation of the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) in 1978, in September 1979, at its conference in Roodepoort the national executive was formed with Nkondo as its president. In 1980, Nkondo was suspended by AZAPO for Breach of principle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extension of University Education Act, 1959</span>

The Extension of University Education Act, Act 45 of 1959, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. This act made it a criminal offense for a non-white student to register at a formerly open university without the written permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs. New universities were then established for various non-white groups.

Anton Muziwakhe Lembede OLG was a South African activist and founding president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He has been described as "the principal architect of South Africa's first full-fledged ideology of African nationalism." Lembede had a strong influence on Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo. Lembede was regarded as the progenitor of the "Programme of Action" that was adopted as a guiding document by the 1949 meeting of the African National Congress. He died in 1947, aged 33.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand</span> University buildings and infrastructure in Johannesburg

The campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg contain a number of notable buildings. There are five campuses: East Campus and West Campus are located in Braamfontein on opposite sides of the M1 highway, while the Education Campus and the Medical and Management schools are located in Parktown.

Ashby Solomzi Peter Mda, also known as A. P. Mda was a South African teacher, lawyer, political activist and co founder of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He was also one of the founders of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Sobukwe</span> South African anti-apartheid activist

Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe OLS was a South African nurse who played an integral role in the Defiance Campaign. Her husband, Robert Sobukwe, was a prominent political dissident. Her family was constantly harassed by the police.

Mvuyo Tom is a South African doctor, administrator and academic, known for his tenure as the vice-chancellor of the University of Fort Hare from 2008 to 2016.

Lieutenant General Andrew Masondo, born Andrew Mandla Lekoto Masondo was a South African mathematician, political prisoner, a former general in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and a national commissar of the African National Congress's military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe,

References

  1. South African Native College Calendar, Thirteenth year, 1928. Fort Hare, Alice.
  1. ↑ "University of Fort Hare appoints Prof Sakhela Buhlungu as new vice chancellor". No. Times Media Group. Time Live. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "CHE | Council on Higher Education | Regulatory body for Higher Education in South Africa | Education | Innovation | University | South Africa". che.ac.za. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "University of Fort Hare | National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)". nihss.ac.za. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Maaba, Brown Bavusile (2001). "The Archives of the Pan Africanist Congress and the Black Consciousness-Orientated Movements". History in Africa. 28: 417–438. doi:10.2307/3172227. JSTOR   3172227. S2CID   145241623.
  5. ↑ Bank, Andrew; Swana, Vuyiswa (2013), Bank, Andrew; Bank, Leslie J. (eds.), "'Speaking from Inside': Archie Mafeje, Monica Wilson and the Co-Production ofLanga: A Study of Social Groups in an African Township", Inside African Anthropology: Monica Wilson and her Interpreters, The International African Library, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN   978-1-139-33363-4, archived from the original on 12 June 2018, retrieved 28 December 2022
  6. 1 2 3 4 Samuel G. Freedman (27 December 2013) Mission Schools Opened World to Africans, but Left an Ambiguous Legacy Archived 8 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine New York Times . Retrieved 27 December 2013
  7. ↑ "University of Fort Hare (1916–)". The Presidency of South Africa. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "World University Rankings 2024 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Republic of South Africa, The Presidency, National Orders Booklet, 2017.
  10. ↑ Africans Claims in South Africa, Alfred Bathini Xuma, 1943
  11. ↑ African Native College Calendar, Thirteenth year, 1928. Fort Hare, Alice.
  12. ↑ "Sir Charles Njonjo dead at 101". Nation. 2 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1984". Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.