The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone, which, as of May 2005, was reconstitued into the individual colleges of Fourah Bay College and Njala University college.
History
The University of Sierra Leone has its origins in the Fourah Bay College. This college was established in February 1827 as an Anglican missionary school by the Church Missionary Society with support from Charles MacCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone. Samuel Ajayi Crowther was the first student to enroll at Fouray Bay. Fourah Bay College soon became a magnet for Krio and other Africans seeking higher education in British West Africa. These included Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ivorians and many more, especially in the fields of theology and education. It was the first western-style university in West Africa. Under colonialism, Freetown was known as the "Athens of West Africa" as an homage to the college.