Khartoum

Khartoum (/kɑːrˈtuːm/ kar-TOOM) is the capital and second largest city of Sudan and Khartoum state. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile, flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran" المقرن, meaning the confluence. The main Nile continues to flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

Divided by the Niles, Khartoum is a tripartite metropolis with an estimated overall population of over five million people, consisting of Khartoum proper, and linked by bridges to Khartoum North (الخرطوم بحري al-Kharṭūm Baḥrī) and Omdurman (أم درمان Umm Durmān) to the west.

History

Etymology

The origin of the word Khartoum is uncertain. One theory argues that khartoum is derived from Arabic kharṭūm خرطوم meaning 'trunk' or 'hose', probably referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles. Captain J. A. Grant, who reached Khartoum in 1863 with Captain Speke's expedition, thought that the name was most probably from the Arabic قرطم qurtum, safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), which was cultivated extensively in Egypt for its oil to be used as fuel. Some scholars speculate that the word derives from kiertoum in the Dinka language, which means "the junction of two rivers."

University of Khartoum

University of Khartoum ( shortened to UofK ) (Arabic: جامعة الخرطوم) is a multi-campus, co-educational, public university located in Khartoum. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence. Since that date, the University of Khartoum has been recognized as a top university and a high-ranked academic institution in Sudan and Africa.

It features several institutes, academic units and research centers including Mycetoma Research Center, Soba University Hospital, Saad Abualila Hospital, Dr. Salma Dialysis centre, Institute of Endemic Diseases and U of K publishing house. The Sudan Library, a section of the university's library, serves as the national library of Sudan.

History

In 1898 after Britain gained dominance in Sudan as part of a condominium arrangement, Lord Kitchener proposed founding a college in the memory of Gordon of Khartoum, who was killed in the Battle of Khartoum. Gordon Memorial College was founded in 1902 with primary education being its sole program.

University

A university (Latin: universitas, "a whole") is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which grants academic degrees in various subjects and typically provides undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word "university" is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars."

History

Definition

The original Latin word "universitas" refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc." At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialised "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees," with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.

Gordon Memorial College

Gordon Memorial College was an educational institution in Sudan. It was built between 1899 and 1902 as part of Lord Kitchener's wide-ranging educational reforms. Named for General 'Chinese' Charles George Gordon of the British army, who was killed during the Mahdi uprising in 1885, it was officially opened on 8 November 1902 by Kitchener himself.

The first students which entered the school in 1903 were primary school students. In 1905 secondary education courses for assistant engineers and land surveyors were added and in 1906 a four-year course for training primary school teachers was started. By 1913 there were about 500 students in the college. In 1924 the college commenced Sharia, Engineering, Teachers' Training, Clerical Work, Accounting and Science vocational courses. Post-secondary education courses in Science, Arts, Engineering, Veterinary Science and Law were started in 1938. There were strong links between courses and Sudan government departments where it was anticipated students would work after graduation. At the beginning of 1945, all these schools were grouped together in a special arrangement with the University of London and secondary education was moved elsewhere. In 1948 there were 262 students at the college.