Our History

The Technikon Free State (now Central University of Technology, Free State) opened its doors on 1 January 1981 in a disused school building in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, under the leadership of the then Mr (later Professor Doctor) J J (Japie) van Lill as Director. He was later promoted to Rector and retired in 1996.

During that month the first students, a total of 285, were enrolled and lectures were offered in mainly the commercial and art disciplines. To reach that point, however, many months of hard work were invested by a dedicated group of people under the chair of Mr Dirk Coetzee, an experienced and senior educator who had first-hand knowledge of career-orientated education.

He was assisted by Mr T D Potgieter, a Free State member of the then Provincial Council, who later became known as 'the father of the technikon idea in the Free State" due to his unrelenting pursuit of the ideal of establishing this particular form of higher education in the Free State, The rest of the so-called pilot committee was made up of various educational, business and private representatives from the Free State community.

The demand for career-orientated higher education soon surpassed all expectations and within a year or two student numbers had grown to such an extent that more physical facilities became a necessity. A second disused school-building in the nearby Pres. Brand Street was obtained and hastily renovated to accommodate the growing new institution.

At the same time the first schools or academic sections were formed, viz. Engineering, Management and Art and Design. Soon, however, a fourth, Faculty of Health- and Environmental Sciences was added.

Growth continued in both student and staff numbers, as well as the number of academic programmes offered. Due to the obvious growing need for the type of education offered, it was decided to open three branches or distance campuses where part-time contact tuition could be offered to students who preferred to or were obliged to continue their studies in the centres where they worked and lived. These branches were in Welkom, Kimberley and Kroonstad. A fourth at Qwaqwa was opened some time afterwards to serve the needs of that particular community.

In the meantime, much effort was put into the provision of proper physical facilities and campus development. This project took some time to finalise, as the authorities were unsure whether permission should be granted for a totally new campus on a site to the west of the city, or whether the technikon should remain on the land adjacent to the Bloemfontein city centre. Eventually the latter was decided upon and construction was started on the erection of new buildings and the renovation of existing ones taken over from several educational institutions which had used them previously.

The latest development as far as the future of the campus is concerned, was the announcement on 18 November 1999 of the new Master Plan for campus development of which implementation is to start in due time. Academic restructuring is also taking place in an effort to offer the very best tuition to students.

As part of its duties in the fields of research and community development, the Central University of Technology, Free State has created a Science Park which shows much promise for the future. It is expected that this venture will launch the institution to the forefront of international academic standards.