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	Swaziland
by Margaret Zoller Booth

Introduction
Swaziland, a small kingdom situated in southern Africa, surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique to its eastern border, remains the only kingdom in Sub-saharan Africa to emerge from the independence period as a sovereign monarchy. Its present population of just under 1 million is situated on an area of 17,364 sq. km (6,704 sq miles). Swaziland has a per capita income of $800.

Historical Background
William Pitcher Teacher Training College, the first institution designed to produce teachers of both primary and secondary education, opened in Bremersdorp in 1962. In that same year, the colonial administration racially integrated the system of education in Swaziland, enabling Swazi students to attend European schools that could better prepare them for the tertiary level.

Most significantly, the University of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland (UBBS) was established by the British government at the original Pius XII Catholic University College in Roma, Basutoland, in 1964. After the independence of Lesotho and Botswana in 1966, the name UBBS was changed to the University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland (UBLS).

In 1986, projected enrollments for the university were higher than the projections made in the Fourth National Development Plan (1983-84 to 1987-88). The commission expected a growth of 8.5% each year, which would increase the student body to 1,783 by 1990.

Enrollment

Total enrollments for all educational institutions in 1996
	Primary	Secondary/ High School	University	Vocactional College	Teacher Training College
Enrolled	202,439	54,873	2,533	1,300	881
Institutions	529	170	1	2	3
Faculty	5,975	3,036	219	106	-
Source: Swaziland Government 1996 and Ministry of Economic Planning and Development 1997.

Enrollment: UNISWA, teacher training, and technical training
Course	1982-83	1985-86	1990-91	1996-97	1999-00
University
B.A. degree	223	335	629	-	-
B. Sc. Degree	304	337	382	-	-
Other degrees	208	363	359	-	-
Diploma in Business	93	80	133	-	-
Diploma in Agriculture	178	118	213	-	-
Home economics	47	54	-	-	-
Male	-	-	-	-	1,514
Female	-	-	-	-	1,390
Total in UNISWA	1,063	1,287	1,716	2,533*	2,904
Teacher training
Male	374	329	285
Female	846	606	376
Subtotal	1,220	935	661	881**	-
Technical Training
Male	-	290	769
Female	-	220	204
Subtotal	527	510	973	1,300**	-
Source: Swaziland Government 1983, 1988, 1991, 1995. *Swaziland Government 1996. **Swaziland Government 1997. #Figures for full-time students only. Taken from University of Swaziland 1999-2000.

Funding and Resources
As a matter of fact, in the second year of the university’s institutional independence, the government of Swaziland spent $23,142 per university student, and $2,112 and $720 per secondary and primary student respectively. Between 1994 and 1997, 18% of all planned educational capital expenditures were aimed at University of Swaziland.

The government of Swaziland has recently acknowledged this bias toward post-secondary education; according to the 1997 Development Plan, this was caused by a “demand driven growth.” However, the plan also calls for a shift in resources from the tertiary level to the primary level.

Development of Technological Colleges
In addition to UNISWA, several other tertiary institutions have been created to meet the country’s needs since independence. Vocational training is offered at the Luyengo campus of the University, the Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT), and the Gwamile Vocational and Commercial Training Institution (VOCTIM) in Matsapha (Swaziland Government 1997).

While the university and technical institutions have experienced steady growth, teacher training colleges have not. This is partly due to the debate regarding the level of national need for new teachers.

Gender
While the gender disparity at the tertiary level has improved recently, the challenge for women to gain truly equal access to higher education remains. In addition to human rights issues, women, who constitute 53% of the population, possess important skills for the development needs of the country. Furthermore, with the continued absence of men who are on tours of migrant labor in South Africa, women constitute an even greater percentage of the cohort in need of the high levels of education required to fulfill Swaziland's significant labor needs

Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Sudan, please consult Margaret Zoller Booth, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 563-573.

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