1 / 29

The Ethiopian experience: a higher education system in context

The Ethiopian experience: a higher education system in context Prof Kate Ashcroft What I will cover The context What sort of place is Ethiopia? What education (especially HE) is offered? The 13 new Higher Education Institution Study:

Pat_Xavi
Download Presentation

The Ethiopian experience: a higher education system in context

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Ethiopian experience: a higher education system in context Prof Kate Ashcroft

  2. What I will cover • The context • What sort of place is Ethiopia? • What education (especially HE) is offered? • The 13 new Higher Education Institution Study: • Curriculum and pedagogic issues – what does the country need? • Organizational and qualifications structures – what is realistic and desirable? • Resourcing issues – what can the country afford?

  3. What sort of place is Ethiopia • Ethiopia is a happy country • Ethiopians are a strikingly beautiful people • People are friendly and unthreatening and someone is always willing to go out of their way to help you • People are generally honest and violent crime is rare

  4. The Ethiopians are a cultured people • The Ethiopian monarchy was 3000 years old • The Royal family is believed to be descended from the Queen of Sheba and Solomon • Ethiopia was never colonized • It still uses the Gregorian Calendar, so is about to celebrate the millennium • Ethiopia has its own way of telling the time • The calendar has 13 months

  5. Ethiopian Christianity is a unique religion • The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest in the world: it was established in 300 AD • It has books in its bible such as the Book of Enoch • It is a schism of a schism of a schism • Its practices have evolved from ancient Judaism • Ethiopia’s Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world. Most emigrated en mass to Israel in the 1970s • Ethiopia’s religions live in harmony with each other

  6. Every day living is enjoyable for most people • The food is good and varied in most places • There are little shops and businesses everywhere • There are comfortable, middle class homes BUT • There are many homeless and beggars too – poverty is real

  7. Ethiopia has varied wildlife and a wonderful climate • A beautiful country, endlessly interesting • More species of bird than any African country except South Africa • A wide variety of wildlife in remote areas

  8. Ethiopia’s countryside is stunningly beautiful • Varied: mountains mostly, but green plains, deserts and the Rift Valley • The climate is pleasant in most of the country for most of the year with temperatures averaging around 70 degrees • Elsewhere, climates vary from a little chilly to steamy hot • Plenty of water in most places, but not harvested

  9. But, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries: Why? • Terms of trade and treaties made in the past • Lack of colonization and outside influences • Authoritarian history • Border disputes • Role of the church • Harmful traditional practices and beliefs • A very conservative and traditional society, with strong authoritarian tendencies • A very bureaucratic country • High birth rate • Land tenure

  10. Some statistics • The average age at death is 46 • HIV AIDS rate 7.3% (Millennium Aids Campaign Ethiopia prepared FHAPCO). Teachers are one of two high risk groups for HIV/AIDs: supply less than numbers dying. • Most primary teachers have only one year of training after grade 10: 17 year olds teach class of over 100. • Worst in the world for road traffic accidents • Female genital mutilation and abduction are illegal, but common • Forced early marriage – the average age of full marriage (sexual) is 12 and a half and 11 is common

  11. Some more statistics • The 3rd poorest country in the world • 85% of the population live in the countryside • Most have no access to sanitation or running water, even in the towns • The average person lives on considerably less than 50p a day • Around 50% of the population is Christian, 40% Muslim and 10% animist • There are 86 languages spoken in Ethiopia

  12. BUT there are reasons to be cheerful • Ethiopia as a country is determined to modernise (and if anything a little too ambitious) • ICT is a priority: The plan is to have 12,000 regional hubs • The big push is quality of teaching and numbers in education at all levels, starting with primary • There are thriving towns and modern and traditional businesses • There is little religious tension

  13. More reasons to be cheerful • More primary education for girls means later marriage and fewer children • Power has been devolved from the centre to local authorities • There have been (imperfect) general elections • The war with Eritrea has not been active for 8 years • Infrastructure development (roads, water and ICT especially) is proceeding fast • Very little corruption

  14. Ethiopia using education to develop Education from 1996/7 to 2004/5: • 54.7% more primary schools, from 10,394 to 16,563 • 85% of the new schools are in rural areas. • Primary Enrolment Rate grew from 34.7%, to in 79.8% (71.5% for girls and 88% for boys). • 53.5% more secondary schools from 369 to 690 in • Enrolment Rate grew from 8.4% to 27%: girls from 7% to 19.6%. • Public technical/vocational training colleges grew from 17 before 1994 to 199

  15. My role • Volunteer for two and a half years, paid on a local salary • Higher education management advisor to the Minister of Education and Vice Minister for HE • Acting Director of the Higher Education Strategy Centre (a mixture of HEFCE and HEPI)

  16. What I did • Chaired a National Committee of Enquiry into Governance, Leadership and Management in HE • Developed a formula to distribute a block grant to universities • Studied what should be the partnership between the public and private sector HEIs • Researched what the 13 new HEIs to be opened in the country should do I will some aspects of cover the 13 new HEIs Study

  17. Higher Education is expanding very rapidly • From 1996/7 to 2004/5 HE grew from one university to 9. • Student numbers grew from 35,000 to 187,500 in 2004/5 • 13 new HEIs are to be opened in the next couple of years • Numbers in existing HEIs are to double by 2009

  18. The context for Higher Education is changing very rapidly New HE Proclamation: • More autonomy • More independent Boards • Move from line budgets to block grant • Student and staff rights • A quality assurance agency • Pedagogic support units • The Higher Education Strategy Centre

  19. What the 13 new HEI study looked at • Curriculum and pedagogic issues – what does the country need? • Organizational and qualifications structures – what is realistic and desirable? • Resourcing issues – what can the country afford?

  20. Methodology • An extensive literature review • Analysis of various government policies and strategies • 50 interviews with a range of representatives of ministries, donor organizations, NGOs and employers • Regional workshops with representatives from Education, Health, Capacity Building, and Finance and Economic Development Bureaus, representatives of local business or industry, heads of TVET colleges, heads of a secondary school and representatives from HEIs in each region • Studies of relevance to the research by contracted researchers each focused on a particular region or sub regions • Visits by research assistants to four regions

  21. Is the Ethiopian HE a system? If a higher education system is defined as: • a set of interrelated institutions • each with its own function within the system, • each with its own goals, • each of which makes a particular contribution to the functioning of the country Ethiopia has a collection of institutions rather than a system.

  22. Recommendations: New forms of HEI Not all the new HEIs can or should be university colleges • Universities (Adama) • University colleges (Dire Dawa and Dilla) Affiliated higher education colleges (the rest) - with a close relationship with an existing university - with close regional ties - offering 12 + 1 and 12 + 2 only • Need for a more developed qualifications framework

  23. PhD (MSc + 3) MA/MSc+1 absent MA/MSc (BA/BSc + 2) BA/BSc +1 absent BA/BSc 12+1 & 12+2 absent Grade 12 The Present Qualification Pyramid in Ethiopia

  24. Recommendations: A New Qualifications Framework • 12 + 1: Higher Education Certificate • 12+2: Associate Degree • 12+ 3: Bachelor’s Degree • Bachelors +1: Post Graduate Certificate • Bachelor’s +2: MA/MBA/MSc • Bachelor’s +3: MPhil • PhD

  25. Recommendations: Pedagogic issues All courses should include: • Entrepreneurialism • Work focus and problem solving • HIV/AIDS issues • Inclusivity issues Implies • Less curriculum • New methods of staff development • Focus on what Ethiopia needs

  26. Recommendations: New sources of funding • Higher rates of graduate tax • Charges for services such as food and lodging (perhaps supported by food vouchers for the poorest) • Local recruitment (to save on lodging provision) • Admitting some fee-paying students over and above those allocated by Government.

  27. Recommendations: Staffing • Focusing mainly on one and two year higher education qualifications and a limited number of programs • Paying postgraduate degree holders as ‘master instructors’ to design the programs, give the lead lectures, do lesson plans for seminars; and second mark a proportion of assignments • Employing graduate assistants to undertake seminars and first marking of assignments • (The existing universities) expanding post graduate training for instructors rapidly and making it relevant for Ethiopia’s new HEIs • Less PG study abroad

  28. Recommendations: ICT • ICT in distance learning: where there is demand, in mixed media mode; in cooperation with each other and international HEIs • In administration: systems for procurement and supplies; asset monitoring; transport; estates management; finance, registry; human resource management; libraries; committee records etc • All new HEIs have broadband quality ICT in all classrooms; instructor offices; administrative offices; classrooms and libraries and the hardware to make these functional.

  29. More on the 13 new HEI project and the other studies www.higher.edu.et

More Related