Education tour

THE NATIONAL UNIVERSTY (NUR) I RUHANDE KWA MPANDAHANDE

The building was built by the Belgians between 1948 and 1949 and it belonged to the white sisters. Until 1957 it was the home of primary school white children, at which time it became a multi-racial school.

It comprised the classroom, dormitories, a refectory and a house for non-religious people.

In 1963 the ownership of the building passed to the Dominican brothers of Canada to house the NUR.

The former National University of Rwanda, built beside Mpandahande’s residence, stands as an everlasting memorial to the countless distinguished figures who passed through its halls over more than 50 years, each in his own category.

In earlier days, the scholars nurtured at the National University of Rwanda—often abbreviated as UNR in French—were grouped into categories and given designations such as the “salauds,” the “conards,” among other renowned names.

Within this institution, fragments of history still live on in the memories of many who journeyed through its corridors. There is the central building (a spot where everyone used to snap photos—even after graduating), Audi Levesque (the name of the Canadian who first led the school), and even the dormitories with their unique names like Vuba, Rinda, Misereole, Cambodge, Nyarutarama, Titanic, Vietnam, and others.