Abstract
This article presents historical information, current activities and future plans with regards to optometric education at the Department of Optometry, Westville campus of the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban. The Department, established in 1979 under the political dispensation of apartheid was intended to cater to the needs of Indian students but now admits students of all races. Also, it has been developing in every aspect of optometric education, staffing and facilities. The undergraduate optometric curriculum at the Department has expanded tremendously over the years and there are now master and doctoral programmes. The number of full-time academic staff has increased from four in 1980 to eleven in 2009. The undergraduate student enrolment has increased from twelve in 1980 to one hundred and sixty in 2009. Research activities and publication output have increased over the years. Community engagement activities have been expanded to meet the needs of the community. Also, physical and training facilities have improved over the years to meet the increasing number of students. The content of this article will be of interest to alumni, current and future students and staff of the Department as well as other stakeholders in the optometric profession and education.(S Afr Optom 2010 69(1) 14-20)
Highlights
The evolution of optometric education in Africa has been discussed in articles by Penisten[1] and Sheni[2] and its development and training in West Africa have been discussed by Ogbuehi[3] and Sheni[4]
In South Africa, the first article to examine the development and training of optometry was by Ferreira[5] and it indicated that the profession was practiced as early as 1862 by unqualified Arab traders and European immigrants who set themselves up as “opticians” without any formal training
Optometry became recognized as a profession in South Africa in 1924 when 24 British-trained optometrists formed the South African Optometric Association (SAOA), the aim being to establish appropriate educational and training facilities, and to implement legislation that excluded unqualified personnel[5]
Summary
The evolution of optometric education in Africa has been discussed in articles by Penisten[1] and Sheni[2] and its development and training in West Africa have been discussed by Ogbuehi[3] and Sheni[4]. In 1979, the Optometry programme was established and located in the Department of Physics, becoming the second University in South Africa to offer a four year optometry degree[6].
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