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Higher education in Ethiopia: status and challenges

Article · August 2005

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Solomon Amare Zewolde

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 Occasional

Higher education in Ethiopia: status and challenges

series
Overall system
At the level of the overall system, there
by Solomon Amare are now nine public universities enrolling
over 40 000 students per year. The gov-
ernment has also announced that it has
finalised preparations to open 13 new
In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis

are indeed some indications that access to universities in mid 2006 in regions histor-

Photography: Ecoprint/www.shutterstock.com
higher education has dramatically ically denied opportunity and access to
increased as a result of such government higher education.8 As a result of this very
investment. Figures from the Annual aggressive expansion policy, total enrol-
Education Statistics and Abstract5 show ments in the Ethiopian higher education
that Ethiopia experienced over 500% system have grown fivefold from a little
increases in overall tertiary education over 30 000 in 1996 to over 150 000 in
student numbers between 1993 and 2003. 2004. The annual enrolment capacity of
public universities has also increased
Enrolment ratio from a little over 3000 in 1996 to over
In spite of this phenomenal quantitative 35 000 in 2004.9 Private provision of
expansion, studies by the World Bank in higher education also plays a role in these
2002/3 revealed a disappointingly minis- expansion efforts. Currently there are
cule tertiary enrolment ratio. The report about a hundred higher education insti-
reads, “Ethiopia’s tertiary level gross tutions which account for well over 23%
The literature on Ethiopia’s enrolment ratio(GER) of 0.8 in 2000 of the total student population (estimat-
places it among the lowest ranking coun- ed at 180 000 in 2004/5) in the overall
education reveals that tries of the world, as does it 62 tertiary higher education system.
higher education officially students per 100 000 inhabitants”.6 In In addition, the government of Ethiopia
addition, reports from UNESCO7 lament enacted a higher education
commenced with the
that increases in student enrolments in proclamation10 which inter alia has rat-
establishment in 1950 of sub-Saharan Africa are accompanied by ified the introduction of cost-sharing
an even greater decline in the quality and schemes, quality assurance mechanisms
the University College of
standard of education and research. This and a system for improving teachers’
Addis Ababa, the present situation perhaps applies more to pedagogic skills. This proclamation has
Ethiopia than any other country in the paved the way for the creation of three
day Addis Ababa
region owing to its poor economy, the system-wide supervisory bodies: the
University. insufficient academic preparedness of Ministry, Quality Assurance Agency, and
students, and lack of qualified teachers the Higher Education Strategy Center.
ts major objectives were to produce for its fast-expanding higher education They are entrusted with the task of devel-

I and supply qualified and educated

school teachers, and personnel to fill
the gaps in the state bureaucracy which
Three young girls with traditional dresses in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia
system.
At present Ethiopia is engaged in a higher
education reform programme which
oping policy, assuring quality and accred-
itation, and the professional development
of higher education teachers respectively.
had, by and large, been occupied by for- arguably has an overarching aim. The
eign nationals.1 Source of hope ‘Minister of Education’ and the chancel- highly ambitious effort to expand access reform, which claims to implement a Institutional level
Ever since its formal introduction into Despite higher education’s apparent and lor of the university, particularly during to higher education. Teshome4 states, huge transformation of the higher educa- At the institutional level, the June 2003
the Ethiopian educational arena, higher repeated failure to play the role of an the initial years. He was instrumental in “during the past few years the govern- tion system, comprises three major com- proclamation gives higher education
education in Ethiopia seems to have been avant garde change agent in the political the expansion and consolidation of insti- ment of Ethiopia has invested significant- ponents: the overall higher education sys- institutions a greater autonomy. Article 7
characterised by a lack of clear and well and socio-economic transformation of tutions of higher learning during the ly in its higher education sector towards tem, the higher education institutions, provides that higher education institu-
thought-out objectives, poor or inad- the Ethiopian people, it has not only tra- period 1950–1970. increasing access and relevance”. There and the academic programmes. tions shall have the autonomy to employ
equate institutional support and commit- ditionally enjoyed a high prestige and sta- In the Derg era there were similar ini- and administer personnel, exercise aca-
ment to student-learning, oppressive tus but has also always been the source of tiatives, as shown by the establishment of demic freedom, engage in income genera-
pedagogic practices, and an autocratic hope for the prosperity of the country. various colleges and institutions of higher tion, and determine their own internal
academic administration. These features This is shown, for example, by the learning in addition to the existing ones. organisation and financial administra-
have prevailed with slight variations amount of attention and investment it Even so, during the time of the EPRDF tion. Institutions are also encouraged to
throughout its history. In addition, high- has received for its expansion or consol- we are experiencing a commitment to Higher education in Ethiopia has engage in income diversification, the
er education in Ethiopia has also idation in almost all the governmental expand higher education on possibly an remained disappointingly development of ICT, and develop their
remained disappointingly unresponsive regimes since 1950, and by the fact that unprecedented scale. own strategic plans so that they can more
to the key developmental needs of the having a child in college is still considered However, despite such commitments, a
unresponsive to the key effectively and positively respond to the
Ethiopian people, such as reliable food by the people to be a mark of success. cursory glance at the current literature on developmental needs of the current aggressive expansion efforts.
security, better health care services, and a Ethiopian higher education reveals a very Ethiopian people
liberal education system that promotes Expansion low enrolment ratio (even by sub- Academic programmes
such values as civility, dignity, peace, During the Imperial era the Emperor was Saharan Africa standards).2,3 In an At the level of academic programmes,
democracy, good governance and respect the self-appointed custodian of educa- attempt to redress this situation the pres- Ethiopian higher education institutions
for the rule of law. tion, as he himself was acting as the ent EPRDF-led government launched a have witnessed the proliferation of vari-

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 Occasional
series This represents a 125% increase in just cited in Kenaw, S. (2003) The idea of a
five years over the current contingent of university and the increasing pressures of
2892 academic staff. If the proposed qual- utilitarianism: a critical reflection on Addis
ification guidelines (30% PhDs and 50% Ababa University, The Ethiopian Journal of
Masters) are applied this would mean the Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 1,
1082 new PhD holders and 1804 new No. 1 (December).
Master’s degree recipients. At present just 2 World Bank (2004), Higher Edcuation
There is more to a 40 PhD students are registered at AAU.”11 Development for Ethiopia: Pursuing the
In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis

good party than A corollary to poor staff qualification is Vision, Africa region Human Development
the problem of staff dissatisfaction with Working Paper Series No.65.
sending out the the present work environment and the 3 Teshome, Y. (2004) The status and chal-
invitations way they are treated. Amare12 has docu- lenge of Ethiopian higher education system
mented the dire state of education and and its contribution to development, The
research at Addis Ababa University. In Ethiopian Journal of Higher Education,
this study, teachers expressed their dis- Vol.1, No.1, 1–19.
may at the government’s undue interven- 4 Reference 3, page 6.
tion in academic affairs (freedom) and its 5 MOE (2003) Education Statistics Annual
inattention to their working conditions. Abstract.
ous kinds of new programmes both at the They reported a heavy teaching load, 6 Reference 2, page 12.
undergraduate and graduate levels. poor salary, intervention in determining 7 UNESCO(2003) Enrolment Numbers
Degree programmes are being introduced the content of the curricula and the And Gross Enrolment Ratio at Tertiary
in an unprecedented number each aca- increasing vocationalisation of the cur- Level by Country and Gender, UNESCO
demic year with a view toward producing riculum as cases in point. Thus, another Institute for Statistics.
the educated people needed by the labour major challenge to current higher educa- 8 Ashroft (2005) ‘13 New Higher
market envisaged by the national eco- tion reform comes from low teacher Education Institutions for Ethiopia: What
nomic development strategy. Many grad- commitment. should each of the new HEIs actually do?’,
uate programmes are also being launched The massification of higher education symposium address presented at the by Rachel van Dokkum
in various public universities to alleviate has also paved the way for the admission National Pedagogic Conference, 21–22 As part of a new occasional series fea-
the insurmountable problem of a lack of of less affluent students into the system. October 2005, Addis Ababa. turing student voices, we explore the
qualified teachers for the rapidly expand- Amare et al9 have found out that the first 9 Amare, S. et al. (2005) ‘Undergraduate I am half Dutch. I was rently a graphic design student at North ‘family heritage’ student. How does it
ing higher education system. The curric- year attrition rate has significantly Student Attrition In Ethiopia’s Higher Carolina State University, and following a feel to study abroad in a country that is
born in the United States
ula of public universities have also been increased in recent years. Students Education: The Case Of Preparatory rigorous design programme, so I needed foreign to you, but in which your family
reviewed with a view to making them reported that they were academically Group Freshman Students(PGFS)’ a before my father had even to find a school that would offer classes at has roots? Do students go deliberately
more practice-oriented, problem solving insufficiently prepared for college work. research report submitted to the an equal level. Naturally, I decided I in search of their roots through their
become an American
and suitable for promoting democratic They also lamented the institutional con- Organisation for Social Science Research in would start my search in Holland. Living study abroad experience? How does it
values. As a result, the four-year under- ditions in which they are placed as simply Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA). citizen, thus granting me in Holland would give me the opportun- match up to their expectations?
graduate programmes have been reduced very poor. They stated that the higher 10 FDRE (2003) Higher Education procla- ity to experience a life that I’d only had a
dual citizenship in both
to a three-year programme and such gen- education institutions simply do not have mation No. 351/2003, Addis Ababa: taste of, and allow me the chance to con-
eral education courses as civic, ethics, and the capacity (classrooms, dormitories and Birhana selam printing press. the USA and Holland. nect more with my Dutch family. I
communication skills have been added. other student facilities) or the capability 11 Reference 2, page 57. thought it would be really interesting to
(in terms of teaching and administrative 12 Amare, S. (2005) ‘Freedom to Decide y father, originally from live in a place and experience the culture my bike everywhere, drink lots of tea and
Manifold challenges remain
Despite such efforts and initiatives the
challenges to Ethiopia’s higher education
personnel) to accommodate them. The
research literature has also firmly estab-
lished that expanding access to higher
the Contents of the Curriculum’ paper pre-
sented at the National Pedagogic
Conference, 21–22 October 2005, Addis
M Tilburg, met my mother, a New
York native, while she was
studying abroad in Austria. One thing led
that my dad grew up in. Fortunately
enough, the Dutch are famous for their
graphic design, and I decided Holland
coffee, and go home to visit my family
sometimes on the weekends. All of the
Dutch customs come naturally to me and
are still manifold. For instance, staff qual- education is only one element in building Ababa. to another … and, well, you know. was the perfect place for me. I could get I have finally realised why my father does
ification has always been a major prob- success. As Cameron has pointed out, 13 Cameron, H. (1999) There’s more to a Growing up I can remember flying with back to my ‘roots’ and progress in my or says some of the things he does. Not
lem. It is more so now in view of the cur- there is more to a good party than send- good party than sending out the invita- my parents to go visit my Oma [grand- studies all in one location. only have I learned new things, but I’ve
rent huge expansion in enrolments. The ing out the invitations.13 tions, ANZ Journal of Education Research, mother], Opa [grandfather] and all of my I’ve been studying in Amsterdam at the taught my Dutch friends things as well.
proportion of academic staff with a PhD In conclusion, many would agree that Vol.7, No. 2. aunts, uncles and cousins who still cur- Gerrit Rietveld Academie now for four Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are
degree has fallen from 28% in 1995/6 to Ethiopia’s higher education system is cur- rently live in Holland. Even though I months and I absolutely love it. I couldn’t really beginning to grow on them …
17% in the 1999/2000 academic year. The rently challenged by a highly regimented Solomon Amare was invited by a former could never speak Dutch, I still have great have picked a better place for myself. My Amsterdam has turned out to be every-
number of PhD holders is very low across academic management, lack of compet- professor of Addis Ababa University, Taye memories of playing with my cousins, parents brought me up speaking English, thing that I expected it would. I have a
the board in all public universities, with ent and qualified teachers, declining edu- Assefa, currently working at the Association singing Dutch songs, going to the Efteling so naturally the thing I feared most about much greater appreciation and under-
the lowest numbers in regional univer- cational and research quality, ethnically of African Universities, to contribute this (a Dutch theme park), and enjoying a moving here was the language difference. standing of the country, and could even
sities. The World Bank report has also divided professoriate, and a very poor article on Ethiopia’s higher education whole different way of living. That really hasn’t been much of a prob- see myself moving back here at some
clearly spelled out that the shortage of and weak relationship with the wider system Having grown up enjoying two cultures lem because just about everyone here point. I am really proud to say that I,

Student voices
qualified teachers is the biggest challenge: international higher education system. but only really living in one, I wanted to speaks English. I’m trying my best Rachel Lauren van Dokkum, am Dutch.
“If the system is to reach public enrol- experience the other. Sitting in class I though to learn and practise as much
ments of 130 000 in students by 2007 would often wonder what it would be like Dutch as I can – I know it will make my
(120 000 undergraduate plus 10 000 1 La Follette, R. (1964) Haile Selassie I to be learning in another country. My father proud. Having family here also
graduate students) and we assume a more University: Reconnaissance Study, mimeo- mom, obviously a firm believer in study- makes things really convenient and my
efficient staff/student ratio of 1:20, some graphed material, Addis Ababa University: ing abroad, really encouraged me to look adjustment period much easier. I cook
3608 new academic staff will be required. Instructional materials Production Centre, into it. So I began to research. I am cur- dinner with my new Dutch friends, ride

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