Catholic University of Angola

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The Catholic University of Angola is located in Angola's capital of Luanda. It was founded by the government of Angola on 7 August 1992 and established on 22 February 1999. It is one of seven recognized universities, both private and public, in Angola[1].

[edit] University information

It currently has about 1,000 enrolled students. The language of classes is Portuguese, although English as a second language (ESL) is also offered. Currently, 3 departments have been founded: Economics, Law and Computer Engineering. Despite its name, the university does not receive funds from the Catholic Church, nor are the students organized by their religious belief. In fact, the school does not even offer any religious instruction.

The University's location in Luanda is at the former Colegio St. Josè de Cluny. This remodeled building is in front of the Museum of History, one block from the Kinashish Market, and will house the first two faculties of the university in its first years of existence. The final buildings complex of the Catholic University will be built on a selected site and will host additional faculties. Also, subsidiaries are considered in other important Angolan cities.

Notable Professors include Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem. He is a long-time Angolan politician and current member of the Pan-African Parliament.

[edit] University funding

Many nations have contributed to the establishment of the university, most prominently the United States, but also Portugal, South Africa, Norway, Spain and Italy in the form of private business assistance and non-governmental agencies. The University receives all of its government funds because of decree 20/82 in 1982 that required petroleum companies operating in Angola to invest into educational and training programs the amount of $0.15 (15¢ of U.S. dollar) per barrel of oil produced. These funds are commonly known as "Training Levy Funds".

The Angola Educational Assistance Fund (AEAF), a Boston-based non-profit organization, has been working with the Catholic University of Angola (UCAN) and has participated in the establishment of a computer and Internet access center.

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Angola approved on July 11, 1997, the decree no. 51/97, in an effort to provide a funding mechanism for higher education institutions in the country. The decree states that a portion of the Training Levy Funds, in the amount of 1¢ per oil barrel, will be used to finance the Catholic University. With Angola currently producing 300 million barrels of oil as of 1998, this amounted to a large majority of the funding for the university.