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.