Mangosuthu University of Technology

Mangosuthu University of Technology is a University of Technology situated on the outskirts of Durban, South Africa, on a site overlooking the Indian Ocean. The majority of students speak Zulu and it is situated near the T section in Umlazi.HistoryThe university has its origins in the then bantustan of KwaZulu. The then chief minister, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, wanted to establish a higher education institution close to Durban to provide young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the opportunity to further their educations beyond secondary school level. In 1979, supported by an Anglo American Chairman’s Fund grant, the institution came into being as a technikon with an initial enrolment of 15 students.AcademicsAcademic activity is divided among three faculties: Engineering; Natural Sciences; and Management Sciences. Academic and research personnel number 143, of whom 28 percent are female.Student EnrollmentIn 2006, there were 10,096 contact students and of these, 5,012 were female and 5,084 male registered at Mangosuthu University of Technology. The University has no distance students. No details were available of the breakdown between full-time and part-time students. Of the student body, 9,978 were South African citizens, 115 from other SADC countries and three from non-SADC countries.