ETHIOPIA: Catholic University is set to operate from its own Premises by February 2017
the completed part of new premises
for the Catholic University
Campus in Addis Ababa
The Ethiopian Catholic University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA) is set to begin operating from its own premises by February 2017. The construction of the premises is currently underway and was recently blessed by H.E. Berhaneyesus Cardinal D. Souraphiel, C.M., the university chancellor and Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa.
The University which has been operating from a rental premises since it was founded in September 2005 inauguration is constructing a university campus on a 600,000 square kilometers land in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The newly constructed premises are envisioned to initially accommodate science faculties such as medicine and different fields of engineering in accordance to the national developmental goals of the Ethiopia.
While blessing the completed part of the construction, His Eminence Cardinal Berhaneyesus, recalled the role played by the Catholic Church in Ethiopia in founding the first universities in the country and also the contribution the Catholic Church has spearheaded toward the growth of modern education.
“The Addis Ababa University and the Holy Family University in Asmara were the first steps taken towards accessing higher education locally and they were both founded by the Catholic Church. We have been providing quality education to our society for years and now through ECUSTA we will continue providing the same to our people,” he said.
The Cardinal also stressed that the success of ECUSTA will greatly depend on the quality of teaching staff and competitive students and said that the Church is preparing
for the task while construction is going on.
“We have many schools throughout the country that are giving primary and secondary education and the students are well prepared to attend tertiary education in a high standard university such as ECUSTA, moreover, we are also preparing local professors who are now at different institutions studying for their doctoral degrees,” Cardinal Berhaneyesus said.
of the uncompleted premises of the Catholic University
President of ECUSTA Rev. Fr. Tekle Meconnen said that they are planning to begin admitting students in the field of Prenatal Medicine in February 2017 at the newly constructed premises. He further explained that the constructions will be completed in phases while the learning-teaching process is going on. ECUSTA plans to begin with 5000 students per year and increase the number gradually.
The University was founded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia following a request by the late Meles Zenawi, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia to Pope John Paul II, now Saint, when the late Prime minister visited the Vatican in 1997. Currently ECUSTA offers Laboratory Science, Social Works and IT courses in two campuses.
By Makeda Yohannes, CBCE Communications and Public Relation Office, Ethiopia
