Boboto College

Boboto College
Type Jesuit, Catholic
Established Oct. 4,1937 (Oct. 4,1937)
Rector Francis Kanyamanza
Director P. Luzolo
Students 700 (secondary)
Location 7, Avenue Père Boka, Gombe
Democratic Republic of Congo
Website Boboto

Boboto College (formerly Albert I College) is a Catholic school founded in 1937 by Belgian Jesuits, and now run entirely by Congolese Jesuits. Boboto College is one of the most prestigious Congolese schools.

History

The Governor General of the Belgian Congo appealed to the Jesuits to instruct and educate the increasing number of young Europeans in Léopoldville. On 4 October 1937 the college opened its doors under the name St. Albert College, to honor St. Albert of Louvain, patron saint of the current Belgian monarch Albert I. It was located on premises lent by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Two Jesuit priests and a scholastic along with a layman handled the first three classes as well as school and extracurricular activities. They temporarily lived one kilometer from the college, on the Lippens Avenue. The school calendar, class schedule, and the number of course hours followed the Belgian directives. The curriculum was deliberately styled after that of the Jesuit St John Berchmans College, Brussels.

In 1940, the college had to accommodate all European children without religious distinction, since they had become stranded in Africa by the Second World War. The college modified its name to Albert I College, after the King. The official opening of the college was on 3 October 1940, in the presence of civil and ecclesiastical authorities. In 1941 the Jesuit Curia in Rome authorized and financed the erection of homes for the Jesuits Fathers (Boboto, Province offices, Saint Ignatius House, and others), the high school dormitory building, and Cultural Center. The college looked then as it does to this day.

In 1945 the Marist Brothers, who were living in Ignatius House, ended their assistance with the primary division of the school. There were then 123 elementary and 93 secondary students. At independence there were 515 elementary students, 227 in Greco-Latin, 151 in Modern Science, 77 in Latin 6th, 49 in Latin 5th, and 20 in Rhetoric. These statistics would increase year by year to an average of 2,400 students – 1,750 primary and 650 secondary – by 1975.

World War II had favored the rapid construction of the college because the European ethnic community could no longer send their children to study in Europe. The college has weathered World War (under Rector Mols) and turbulence (disturbances and riots) in the year of independence (under Rector Cardol). At the introduction of the ideology of African authenticity in the country, Albert I College became (under Rector Croonenberghs) Boboto College. The year 1954 opened a new phase in the history of the College with its enrollment of the first six Congolese.

In 1986, for ease of administration, Fr. Jean-Claude Michel, Provincial Delegate for Education, obtained leave from the Ministry of Education for the primary school to be split in two with three tracks, strengthening its offering.[1]

The college hosts cultural events such as ballet[2] and prominent speakers.[3]

Divisions

The college currently has three elementary tracks and the secondary school. Each elementary track has a Titular Director, a Deputy Director, a succession Professor (supernumerary), five teachers for five classes and two workers. The average annual headcount of students is 560 per track. The length of study at primary school is six years. The age group of elementary students is from 6 to 14 years. The six years lead to a certificate from the Ministry of Education that provides access to secondary education. A distinctive certificate from the Society of Jesus is added to their diploma.[1] Top students are awarded scholarships by the Nicolas Kahasha Foundation.[4]

The secondary general education is six years of studies leading to the State Diploma giving students access to higher and university education in all countries. A Diploma of the Association of the Society of Jesus is awarded to the best students, giving access to higher and university Jesuit institutions. The secondary is two cycles: lower long cycle (1-2 year) and long-graduate (3-6 years). The lower long cycle is a common core. From the third year, students are directed to two specific sections: literary and scientific (math-physics and bio-chemistry). There are 67 administrative staff workers and teachers. The effective annual average is 700 students.

There is an active alumni association.[5]

Notable former pupils

Boboto Cultural Center

Boboto Cultural Center
Centre Culturel Boboto
Abbreviation CCB
Established 1942 (1942)
Purpose Foster popular arts and
human development
Location
Coordinates 4°18′27.79″S 15°17′9.68″E / 4.3077194°S 15.2860222°E / -4.3077194; 15.2860222
Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic
Website CCB

Boboto Cultural Center (CCB) (Centre Culturel Boboto  (French)) was founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1942 to contribute to the development of artistic creativity and to the preservation of the Congolese cultural heritage. It offers an opportunity for the display and sale of the artistic works of common craftsmen – paintings, sculptures, and woodcraft[7] – and also hosts conferences in the interest of human development.[8] It is located at Boboto College in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The cultural center was built in 1942. With Belgium's occupation during World War II CCB housed the Belgian worldwide radio broadcasting center Radio-Léo,[9] the first radio transmitting station in Central Africa. In January 1944 it broadcast the "speech in Brazzaville" of General de Gaulle, seen as a turning point in France's relationship with its colonies.[10]

Boboto conference hall can accommodate 550 and includes a large stage. It hosts major conferences and seminars,[11] as well as performances and film screenings. Among prominent personages hosted at the center were violinist Yehudi Menuhin, painter Marques, prominent in Kinshasa in the 1950s, Brother Marc Wallenda, founder of the Academy of Fine Arts, and painter Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo.[12] The Center has served as a venue for performances sponsored by the US embassy[13] and for public service educational programs.[14] Other groups performing at CCB were the "Theater of Brussels Galleries" and the "Musical Youth". Animators at the center also brought together people with disabilities to display through dance and music the life-vision of the Bantu people.[15] "World Exploration" conferences were held annually until the sixties. CCB includes a library and reading room, along with a collection which includes lunar rocks brought back by the Apollo expeditions.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Collège Boboto". www.college-boboto.org. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  2. ↑ AWAEZA (2012-06-10), AwaEza Present The BalletGroup Of RD Congo Performing @ The Boboto College, retrieved 2017-09-23
  3. ↑ "NASA ASTONAUT : ROBERT CURBEAM AU COLLEGE BOBOTO - VOILA NIGHT". VOILA NIGHT (in French). Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  4. ↑ "Fin de l'année scolaire : une ONG prime les meilleurs élèves du collège Boboto". Radio Okapi (in French). 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  5. ↑ "Bruxelles : l'association des anciens du collège Boboto en pleine structuration | adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  6. ↑ "Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo – TRIAL International". trialinternational.org. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  7. ↑ "Congo-Kinshasa- Post Report - e Diplomat". www.ediplomat.com. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  8. ↑ Kroc, SA. Accessed 31 March 2016.
  9. ↑ Mboka, Mwana (2011-01-09). "Kinshasa Then and Now: Kinshasa 2005 - TASOK Reunion City Tour". Kinshasa Then and Now. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  10. ↑ Speech. Accessed 31 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Global Intelligence Files - BBC Monitoring Alert - DRC". wikileaks.org. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  12. ↑ "Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo - Biography". www.vitshois.com. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  13. ↑ "Democratic Republic of the Congo: Battery Dance Company International". toolkit.batterydance.org. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  14. ↑ Defense for Children. Accessed 31 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Un spectacle de danse et de musique avec les handicapés au Centre culturel Boboto - Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP)". acpcongo.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  16. ↑ Todd, Nancy S. "Lunar Rocks and Soils from Apollo Missions". curator.jsc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2017-10-17.

Coordinates: 4°18′32.46″S 15°17′6.4″E / 4.3090167°S 15.285111°E / -4.3090167; 15.285111

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