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Higher education in Ethiopia: status and challenges

Article · August 2005

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 Occasional
Higher education in Ethiopia: status and challenges
series
by Solomon Amare
In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis
The literature on Ethiopia’s
education reveals that
higher education officially
commenced with the
establishment in 1950 of
the University College of
Addis Ababa, the present
day Addis Ababa
University.
ts major objectives were to produce
I and supply qualified and educated
school teachers, and personnel to fill
the gaps in the state bureaucracy which
had, by and large, been occupied by for-
eign nationals.1
Ever since its formal introduction into
the Ethiopian educational arena, higher
education in Ethiopia seems to have been
characterised by a lack of clear and well
thought-out objectives, poor or inad-
equate institutional support and commit-
ment to student-learning, oppressive
pedagogic practices, and an autocratic
academic administration. These features
have prevailed with slight variations
throughout its history. In addition, high-
er education in Ethiopia has also
remained disappointingly unresponsive
to the key developmental needs of the
Ethiopian people, such as reliable food
security, better health care services, and a
liberal education system that promotes
such values as civility, dignity, peace,
democracy, good governance and respect
for the rule of law.
EAIE FORUM 24
Three young girls with traditional dresses in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia
Source of hope
Despite higher education’s apparent and
repeated failure to play the role of an
avant garde change agent in the political
and socio-economic transformation of
the Ethiopian people, it has not only tra-
ditionally enjoyed a high prestige and sta-
tus but has also always been the source of
hope for the prosperity of the country.
This is shown, for example, by the
amount of attention and investment it
has received for its expansion or consol-
idation in almost all the governmental
regimes since 1950, and by the fact that
having a child in college is still considered
by the people to be a mark of success.
Expansion
During the Imperial era the Emperor was
the self-appointed custodian of educa-
tion, as he himself was acting as the
‘Minister of Education’ and the chancel-
lor of the university, particularly during
the initial years. He was instrumental in
the expansion and consolidation of insti-
tutions of higher learning during the
period 1950–1970.
In the Derg era there were similar ini-
tiatives, as shown by the establishment of
various colleges and institutions of higher
learning in addition to the existing ones.
Even so, during the time of the EPRDF
we are experiencing a commitment to
expand higher education on possibly an
unprecedented scale.
However, despite such commitments, a
cursory glance at the current literature on
Ethiopian higher education reveals a very
low enrolment ratio (even by sub-
Saharan Africa standards).2,3 In an
attempt to redress this situation the pres-
ent EPRDF-led government launched a
are indeed some indications that access to
Photography: Ecoprint/www.shutterstock.com
higher education has dramatically
increased as a result of such government
investment. Figures from the Annual
Education Statistics and Abstract5 show
that Ethiopia experienced over 500%
increases in overall tertiary education
student numbers between 1993 and 2003.
Enrolment ratio
In spite of this phenomenal quantitative
expansion, studies by the World Bank in
2002/3 revealed a disappointingly minis-
cule tertiary enrolment ratio. The report
reads, “Ethiopia’s tertiary level gross
enrolment ratio(GER) of 0.8 in 2000
places it among the lowest ranking coun-
tries of the world, as does it 62 tertiary
students per 100 000 inhabitants”.6 In
addition, reports from UNESCO7 lament
that increases in student enrolments in
sub-Saharan Africa are accompanied by
an even greater decline in the quality and
standard of education and research. This
situation perhaps applies more to
Ethiopia than any other country in the
region owing to its poor economy, the
insufficient academic preparedness of
students, and lack of qualified teachers
for its fast-expanding higher education
system.
At present Ethiopia is engaged in a higher
education reform programme which
arguably has an overarching aim. The
highly ambitious effort to expand access reform, which claims to implement a
to higher education. Teshome4 states, huge transformation of the higher educa-
“during the past few years the govern- tion system, comprises three major com-
ment of Ethiopia has invested significant- ponents: the overall higher education sys-
ly in its higher education sector towards tem, the higher education institutions,
increasing access and relevance”. There and the academic programmes.
Higher education in Ethiopia has
remained disappointingly
unresponsive to the key
developmental needs of the
Ethiopian people
Overall system
At the level of the overall system, there
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
universities in mid 2006 in regions histor-
ically denied opportunity and access to
higher education.8 As a result of this very
aggressive expansion policy, total enrol-
ments in the Ethiopian higher education
system have grown fivefold from a little
over 30 000 in 1996 to over 150 000 in
2004. The annual enrolment capacity of
public universities has also increased
from a little over 3000 in 1996 to over
35 000 in 2004.9 Private provision of
higher education also plays a role in these
expansion efforts. Currently there are
about a hundred higher education insti-
tutions which account for well over 23%
of the total student population (estimat-
ed at 180 000 in 2004/5) in the overall
higher education system.
In addition, the government of Ethiopia
enacted a higher education
proclamation10 which inter alia has rat-
ified the introduction of cost-sharing
schemes, quality assurance mechanisms
and a system for improving teachers’
pedagogic skills. This proclamation has
paved the way for the creation of three
system-wide supervisory bodies: the
Ministry, Quality Assurance Agency, and
the Higher Education Strategy Center.
They are entrusted with the task of devel-
oping policy, assuring quality and accred-
itation, and the professional development
of higher education teachers respectively.
Institutional level
At the institutional level, the June 2003
proclamation gives higher education
institutions a greater autonomy. Article 7
provides that higher education institu-
tions shall have the autonomy to employ
and administer personnel, exercise aca-
demic freedom, engage in income genera-
tion, and determine their own internal
organisation and financial administra-
tion. Institutions are also encouraged to
engage in income diversification, the
development of ICT, and develop their
own strategic plans so that they can more
effectively and positively respond to the
current aggressive expansion efforts.
Academic programmes
At the level of academic programmes,
Ethiopian higher education institutions
have witnessed the proliferation of vari-
25 EAIE FORUM
 Occasional
series
There is more to a
In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis … In extremis
good party than
sending out the
invitations
ous kinds of new programmes both at the
undergraduate and graduate levels.
Degree programmes are being introduced
in an unprecedented number each aca-
demic year with a view toward producing
the educated people needed by the labour
market envisaged by the national eco-
nomic development strategy. Many grad-
uate programmes are also being launched
in various public universities to alleviate
the insurmountable problem of a lack of
qualified teachers for the rapidly expand-
ing higher education system. The curric-
ula of public universities have also been
reviewed with a view to making them
more practice-oriented, problem solving
and suitable for promoting democratic
values. As a result, the four-year under-
graduate programmes have been reduced
to a three-year programme and such gen-
eral education courses as civic, ethics, and
communication skills have been added.
Manifold challenges remain
Despite such efforts and initiatives the
challenges to Ethiopia’s higher education
are still manifold. For instance, staff qual-
ification has always been a major prob-
lem. It is more so now in view of the cur-
rent huge expansion in enrolments. The
proportion of academic staff with a PhD
degree has fallen from 28% in 1995/6 to
17% in the 1999/2000 academic year. The
number of PhD holders is very low across
the board in all public universities, with
the lowest numbers in regional univer-
sities. The World Bank report has also
clearly spelled out that the shortage of
qualified teachers is the biggest challenge:
“If the system is to reach public enrol-
ments of 130 000 in students by 2007
(120 000 undergraduate plus 10 000
graduate students) and we assume a more
efficient staff/student ratio of 1:20, some
3608 new academic staff will be required.
EAIE FORUM 26
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This represents a 125% increase in just
five years over the current contingent of
2892 academic staff. If the proposed qual-
ification guidelines (30% PhDs and 50%
Masters) are applied this would mean
1082 new PhD holders and 1804 new
Master’s degree recipients. At present just
40 PhD students are registered at AAU.”11
A corollary to poor staff qualification is
the problem of staff dissatisfaction with
the present work environment and the
way they are treated. Amare12 has docu-
mented the dire state of education and
research at Addis Ababa University. In
this study, teachers expressed their dis-
may at the government’s undue interven-
tion in academic affairs (freedom) and its
inattention to their working conditions.
They reported a heavy teaching load,
poor salary, intervention in determining
the content of the curricula and the
increasing vocationalisation of the cur-
riculum as cases in point. Thus, another
major challenge to current higher educa-
tion reform comes from low teacher
commitment.
The massification of higher education
has also paved the way for the admission
of less affluent students into the system.
Amare et al9 have found out that the first
year attrition rate has significantly
increased in recent years. Students
reported that they were academically
insufficiently prepared for college work.
They also lamented the institutional con-
ditions in which they are placed as simply
very poor. They stated that the higher
education institutions simply do not have
the capacity (classrooms, dormitories and
other student facilities) or the capability
(in terms of teaching and administrative
personnel) to accommodate them. The
research literature has also firmly estab-
lished that expanding access to higher
education is only one element in building
success. As Cameron has pointed out,
there is more to a good party than send-
ing out the invitations.13
In conclusion, many would agree that
Ethiopia’s higher education system is cur-
rently challenged by a highly regimented
academic management, lack of compet-
ent and qualified teachers, declining edu-
cational and research quality, ethnically
divided professoriate, and a very poor
and weak relationship with the wider
international higher education system.
1 La Follette, R. (1964) Haile Selassie I
University: Reconnaissance Study, mimeo-
graphed material, Addis Ababa University:
Instructional materials Production Centre,
cited in Kenaw, S. (2003) The idea of a
university and the increasing pressures of
utilitarianism: a critical reflection on Addis
Ababa University, The Ethiopian Journal of
the Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 1,
No. 1 (December).
2 World Bank (2004), Higher Edcuation
Development for Ethiopia: Pursuing the
Vision, Africa region Human Development
Working Paper Series No.65.
3 Teshome, Y. (2004) The status and chal-
lenge of Ethiopian higher education system
and its contribution to development, The
Ethiopian Journal of Higher Education,
Vol.1, No.1, 1–19.
4 Reference 3, page 6.
5 MOE (2003) Education Statistics Annual
Abstract.
6 Reference 2, page 12.
7 UNESCO(2003) Enrolment Numbers
And Gross Enrolment Ratio at Tertiary
Level by Country and Gender, UNESCO
Institute for Statistics.
8 Ashroft (2005) ‘13 New Higher
Education Institutions for Ethiopia: What
should each of the new HEIs actually do?’,
symposium address presented at the
National Pedagogic Conference, 21–22
October 2005, Addis Ababa.
9 Amare, S. et al. (2005) ‘Undergraduate
Student Attrition In Ethiopia’s Higher
Education: The Case Of Preparatory
Group Freshman Students(PGFS)’ a
research report submitted to the
Organisation for Social Science Research in
Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA).
10 FDRE (2003) Higher Education procla-
mation No. 351/2003, Addis Ababa:
Birhana selam printing press.
11 Reference 2, page 57.
12 Amare, S. (2005) ‘Freedom to Decide
the Contents of the Curriculum’ paper pre-
sented at the National Pedagogic
Conference, 21–22 October 2005, Addis
Ababa.
13 Cameron, H. (1999) There’s more to a
good party than sending out the invita-
tions, ANZ Journal of Education Research,
Vol.7, No. 2.
Solomon Amare was invited by a former
professor of Addis Ababa University, Taye
Assefa, currently working at the Association
of African Universities, to contribute this
article on Ethiopia’s higher education
system
by Rachel van Dokkum
I am half Dutch. I was
born in the United States
before my father had even
become an American
citizen, thus granting me
dual citizenship in both
the USA and Holland.
y father, originally from
M Tilburg, met my mother, a New
York native, while she was
studying abroad in Austria. One thing led
to another … and, well, you know.
Growing up I can remember flying with
my parents to go visit my Oma [grand-
mother], Opa [grandfather] and all of my
aunts, uncles and cousins who still cur-
rently live in Holland. Even though I
could never speak Dutch, I still have great
memories of playing with my cousins,
singing Dutch songs, going to the Efteling
(a Dutch theme park), and enjoying a
whole different way of living.
Having grown up enjoying two cultures
but only really living in one, I wanted to
experience the other. Sitting in class I
would often wonder what it would be like
to be learning in another country. My
mom, obviously a firm believer in study-
ing abroad, really encouraged me to look
into it. So I began to research. I am cur-
rently a graphic design student at North
Carolina State University, and following a
rigorous design programme, so I needed
to find a school that would offer classes at
an equal level. Naturally, I decided I
would start my search in Holland. Living
in Holland would give me the opportun-
ity to experience a life that I’d only had a
taste of, and allow me the chance to con-
nect more with my Dutch family. I
thought it would be really interesting to
live in a place and experience the culture
that my dad grew up in. Fortunately
enough, the Dutch are famous for their
graphic design, and I decided Holland
was the perfect place for me. I could get
back to my ‘roots’ and progress in my
studies all in one location.
I’ve been studying in Amsterdam at the
Gerrit Rietveld Academie now for four
months and I absolutely love it. I couldn’t
have picked a better place for myself. My
parents brought me up speaking English,
so naturally the thing I feared most about
moving here was the language difference.
That really hasn’t been much of a prob-
lem because just about everyone here
speaks English. I’m trying my best
though to learn and practise as much
Dutch as I can – I know it will make my
father proud. Having family here also
makes things really convenient and my
adjustment period much easier. I cook
dinner with my new Dutch friends, ride
As part of a new occasional series fea-
turing student voices, we explore the
‘family heritage’ student. How does it
feel to study abroad in a country that is
foreign to you, but in which your family
has roots? Do students go deliberately
in search of their roots through their
study abroad experience? How does it
match up to their expectations?
my bike everywhere, drink lots of tea and
coffee, and go home to visit my family
sometimes on the weekends. All of the
Dutch customs come naturally to me and
I have finally realised why my father does
or says some of the things he does. Not
only have I learned new things, but I’ve
taught my Dutch friends things as well.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are
really beginning to grow on them …
Amsterdam has turned out to be every-
thing that I expected it would. I have a
much greater appreciation and under-
standing of the country, and could even
see myself moving back here at some
point. I am really proud to say that I,
Student voices
Rachel Lauren van Dokkum, am Dutch.
27 EAIE FORUM