Thirty years of optometric education at Turfloop (1975-2005): A historical and educational overview

Abstract

It is always necessary to document his-torical events for the purpose of future gen-erations. The Department of Optometry at Turfloop had a complex development which needs to be documented; hence, the purpose of this article is to present a historical and educational overview of the optometric educa-tion at Turfloop, thirty years after its inception. This article is timely not only because of the milestone that the department has reached, but also because the institution (University of the North) where it was established 30 years ago has merged with the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), to form a new institution called University of Limpopo (UL) in January 2005. This article discusses the historical background of the department, staffing, facilities, academic developments, student enrolment, graduation and curriculum development. Academic, research and commu-nity outreach programmes are also discussed. Also, the future activities which may further enhance the development of the department are described. This article will serve as one of the reference sources for the present and future generations who may be interested in the his-torical development of optometric education at Turfloop.

Keywords

• Optometry, Education, University of the North, University of Limpopo (Turfloop, South Africa)