The University of Panama was founded on October 7, 1935, with a student body of 175 in the fields of Education, Commerce, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy, Pre-Engineering and Law. As of 2008, it maintains a student body of 74,059 distributed in 228 buildings around the country. The main campus is located in Panama City.
This government learning center was founded under the administration of the President of the Republic, Dr. Harmodio Arias Madrid. Its founder and first President was the distinguished citizen Dr. Octavio Méndez Pereira. There is an impressive monument dedicated to his memory at this prestigious educational center.
The University of Panama was created by presidential decree on May 29, 1935. However, it began operations on October 7 of the same year in one of the wings of the Instituto Nacional (National Institute). Later on, under the administration of Enrique A. Jiménez, the government purchased around 60 hectares of land in the neighborhood of El Cangrejo, destined to be the future university’s main campus.
This public entity is subsidized by the Central Government. The tuition costs are almost free. For example, during my year and a half there, I was only paying $26.50 per semester. This is rarely seen anywhere in the globe, except Panama.
During my recent visit to this place of knowledge, I shot several pictures of its structures, employees, students, sculptures, works of art, gardens, water fountains and other interesting objects to show you how attractive this campus is.
Below are several photographs of buildings randomly scattered throughout the campus. Here we go.
Photograph of the campus library, Simón Bolívar. It has all the facilities of a modern college library. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Photograph of the School of Pharmacy in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
View of a beautiful artwork on one of the walls of a building within the campus of the University of Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
A close-up view of an attractive wall of a building at the University of Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Examples of exquisite pieces of art within the campus of the University of Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Stay tuned to future posts of Lingua Franca. There are more exciting photographs of this wonderful campus in the middle of Panama City in a neighborhood known as El Cangrejo (The Crab). Good Day.
Omar:
Mi matriculas fluctuaron entre $50 a $60 por semestre, doce semestres en total com0 $700. Hace un tiempo hice el calculo del costo total de mi education contando libros, hospedaje, comida, copias, etc, y fue alreadedor de $25 000 por los 6 anos. Compare eso al costo de la misma educacion en US, donde estudiantes se endeudan entre $ 100 000 y $200 000 por estudiar medicina. No nos podemos quejar. Y la preparacion es magnifica.
Otra vez, muy buenas fotos, muy coloridas.
Jaime^
Hola Jaime:
En Panamá nos quejamos por todo porque no valoramos lo que tenemos. Tener una educación universitaria casi gratis en estos días es digno de alabar.
El caso suyo es un ejemplo claro de lo excelente y barata que es la educación universitaria en Panamá.
Gracias por el comentario de las fotografías. Mañana vienen más. Esté pendiente.
Saludos,
Omar.-