National University of Rwanda

The National University of Rwanda (NUR; , , UNR) was the largest university in Rwanda. It was located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government in cooperation with the Congregation of the Dominicans from the Province of Quebec, Canada. Its founder and first rector was Father Georges-Henri Lévesque. When it was established, the NUR had three divisions (Faculties of Medicine and Social Sciences, and a Teacher Training College), 51 students and 16 lecturers. The university suffered badly during the genocide and had to close in 1994, reopening in April 1995. At that time English was introduced as a medium of instruction alongside French. In 2013, along with all public higher education institutions in Rwanda, it was merged into the newly created University of Rwanda. History When it started in 1963 NUR was composed of three academic units: the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Teacher Training College (ENS). At that time, it had 51 students and 16 lecturers. By 2005, the university had 8221 students and 425 lecturers. Important dates and facts are: November 3, 1963: Official opening of NUR May 12, 1964: Law establishing the NUR 1966: The National Institute of Education was created thanks to the UNDP and UNESCO: The Institute aimed at training and improving elementary secondary school teachers’ skills. It also aimed at implementing multidisciplinary pedagogical research. 1967: Creation of the University Extension as a unit with the mission to reflect NUR by its services to the people 1972: Creation of a research centre on pharmacopoeia and traditional medicine (CUPHARMETRA) in the Faculty of medicine. This became an autonomous body in 1980. May 1973: NUR, in conjunction with the Ghent Faculty of Applied Sciences put up a progressive training program for civil engineers specialized in building and set up a fore-project program in electro mechanic engineering. October 1973: The University of Instelling Antwerpen contributed in the opening of the Faculty of Law. 1974: A centre for study and experimentation of energy in Rwanda was created within the Faculty of Sciences. It became autonomous since 1977. June 13, 1979: The Faculty of Agronomy, which was a department in the Faculty of Science, was created. October 1, 1981: NUR and the NIE (National Institute of Education) were merged. Since then, the National University of Rwanda had two campuses: one at Ruhengeri and another at Butare.