This ancient nation, Ethiopia, currently in sophisticated socioeconomic and political development, has spirits lost and spirits that must resurface. The idea occurred to me after reading an American historical document, the first premier printing of September 1960, published by FANCET WORLD LIBRARY. It is a book of five volumes, and I happened to get the chance to read “The Making of a World Power,” the fourth volume.
From this volume I have preferred to pick one topic for my first opinion on the spirits our country has lost and the spirits it must revive “Why they went to college?” was the title and it depicted how American youths of late eighteen, nineteen flocked to college even though several efforts were made to keep them back. Who wanted to keep them back and why was not explained by Henry Siedal Canby, whose argument was printed in this part of the book. But I also picked the subject because it is about time that new college students are ready to swarm their campuses.
He explained despite the challenges thousands up on mounting thousands swarmed campuses during that era, for the best of reasons. Some had looked into opportunities for new life experiences, romance, and freedom of entertainment. However, the majority as per Canby chose to join the colleges with ambitions of much more realistic. They had learned in preparatory school that the college world was a career as well as a utopia and a career where the sharp one, energetic, might overcome handicaps of birth, poverty, or even of character wrote Canby.
According to him the careerist groups of college students were ambitious about social democracy, and they were also well aware that college climbing would lead to much more than college success. This group of people knew how to join the right groups go to the right club and make the best out of their future by themselves unaided by the power of money. The American college life of the period as per Canby educated specifically for the harsh competition of capitalism for the successful and often unscrupulous pursuit by the individual of power for himself, for class superiority, and for a success measure by the secure possession of the fruits of prosperity.
From historical books and novels of the generation in the sixties I have observed that even if contextually different, such spirits of college life have been witnessed in Ethiopia. The problem was that as many agree, the generation annihilated itself during the seventeen years of civil war. The remaining conscious youths of the generation became canon fodders during the Ethio-Eritrea war. That was the time when the spirits that would have lifted the country out of poverty, illiteracy, bad health, and outmoded agricultural systems and led it to a world standard of prosperity were buried deep down in the nation’s soil.
That was the time when the college spirits that held social justice and democracy so dearly started to decay, and ethnic madness was planted in a few universities of the country. A generation of new curriculum, whom all the restraints of high grades with difficult national exams to keep the students back from college but for the sake of quality education of course was lifted for, would start swarming campuses like the American college students of the late eighteenth and nineteenth.
So many universities were built over the past three decades but were the spirits of a career given more value than enjoying a college life experience? Has it been social Justice or ethnic madness, which has been embraced by the college society? Was it to graduate from college and win the world by one’s effort or holding documents in plastic binders and walking around the streets of Addis all day, searching for jobs that, dominated the youths’ minds? So many old scholars have criticized the generation for being Lazy and keeping themselves out of accountability. The generation blamed the scholars for not sharing their best as college lecturers! Some blamed the curriculum.
As to me, the Country has to let bygones be bygones, as a result of bad political trends and lazy curriculum .It must work towards the revival of the spirits of career, social justice, entrepreneurial skill, and the spirits of a generation who knows what to do about his country before anyone else comes to tell him.
The new college students who are going to campuses must be aware that a college is a ladder to climb up for much more than college success. You may enjoy romance and entertainment but also remember that it is also an education for your future adult lives. In this case, I do not see any genuineness of graduate Students complaining about, Minister of Education’s implementation of the exit exam. If a college graduate student fears exit exam, how does anyone expect the Prime Minister to transform such a big nation single-handedly? If Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is to keep up with the positive developmental reforms of the country the greater national assistance will be from a very conscious, careerist self-confident and knowledgeable college society.
I also argue that old scholars are to blame for creating a generation that is controlled by situations instead of creating a generation that controls situations. It is better to stop boasting of the whereabouts of their masters or doctorate degrees and start sharing their knowledge of it. It is high time the standards of education cleanse ethnic madness and embrace synergy for a prosperous future of society.
In terms of knowledge, I have had many teachers and lecturers tell me that it comes from too much reading. What I have been observing these days is little reading and too much argument or talking without referring to evident documents. This is creating barriers to historical knowledge among the youth, which is one of the major factors that have been leading generations to ethnic madness. Thus, new college students are expected to engage in reading rather than being mutants of worth-nothing social platform videos.
One of the best things one could get from proper education is confidence. If you can pay someone to do your graduation paper but complain about the exit exam as a graduate student after years of college life, is an insult to your own career life.
Let me wrap up with the saying “Students must not pass through colleges but colleges must pass through students.”
BY HENOK TIBEBU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2024
