This ancient nation Ethiopia currently in a sophisticated or complex socioeconomic and political development has spirits lost and spirits that must be resurfaced. The idea occurred to me after having the privilege to read an American historical document of a first Premier printing September 1960 published by “FANCET WORLD LIBRARY”. It is a book of five volumes and I happen 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 on 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 the preparatory school that the college world was a career as well as a utopia and furthermore a career where the sharp one energetic might overcome handicap 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 the college climbing would lead to much more than a college success. This group of people knew how to join the right groups and 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 the 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 were used as firewood during the worthless Ethio-Eritrea war. That was the time where the spirits which would have lifted the country out of poverty, illiteracy, bad health and agricultural systems and led it to a world standard prosperity were buried deep down in the nation’s soil.
That was the time where the college spirits that held social justice and democracy so dearly started to decay and ethnic madness was planted in a few universities that the country has. A generation of new curriculum, whom all the restraints of high grades with difficult national exam 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 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 oneself effort or holding documents in plastic binders and walking around the streets of Addis all day, searching for jobs that, dominated the youths mind? So many old scholars has criticized the generation for being Lazy and kept 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 the bygones be bygones, as a results of bad political trends and lazy curriculum and resurface 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 your campuses must be aware that the college is a ladder to climb up for much more than a college success. You may enjoy romance and entertainments, 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 Professor Birhanu Nega’s, Minister of education 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 on 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 which is controlled by situations instead of creating a generation that controls situations. It’s better to stop boasting of the whereabouts of their master or doctorate degrees and start sharing the knowledge of it. It’s 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 of teachers and lecturers who told 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 evident documents. This is creating barriers of historical knowledge between the youth, which is one of the major factors that have been leading generations to the ethnic madness. Thus new college students are expected to indulge in reading 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 complaining of exit exam as a graduate student after years of college life, is an insult for your own career life.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY HENOK TIBEBU
The Ethiopian Herald December 1/2024
