Eshetu Melese has been working as a teacher for more than 40 years in public and private schools. Since teaching is his most preferred profession from childhood, he decided to stay in it throughout the times though he was able to get many other opportunities.
According to Eshetu, the recently formulated educational road map perhaps will play a significant role to ensure educational quality as it has envisaged giving incentives for teachers. However, there are threats to its implementation as the concerned body has not adequately participated on the road map preparation process, bodies who related to the government are highly engaged in the issue. In this regard, the new road map should be prepared for shaping a generation.
On the other hand, some private educational institutions are not exposed to taking different training related to the new road map due to various reasons. This may be a challenge in the implementation process.
As to him, teachers loss of dignity is the serious challenge in Ethiopia to ensure quality education during the past many years. This shows that the government gave little attention to educational sector inspection. For example during opening new academic institutions in a given area, bad-mannered businesses like drinking alcohol, chewing chat, smoking cigarette and the like as to see the conducive environment of business running by businessmen.
However, the current road map has shown a hint for creating a conducive educational environment which helps to better tomorrow. But it needs to commitment and change to practice without any hesitation.
Dr Demis Zergaw, a Senior National Advisor at Ministry of Education on his part said that the new educational road map, six –two-four ordered will play a significant role to realize sustainable quality education through increasing the students’ intelligence and encompassing diverse issues.
According to him, lack of awareness creation, failure to expand of educational sectors and inadequate budget is the serious challenges to ensuring quality education and give high attention to teachers during the past many years in Ethiopia.
Although preparations of the new road map were started five years ago expecting to see results in ten years, it was not implemented in the stated period due to the complexity of the issue. However, the new road map preparation would be accomplished in this fiscal year and start to implement in 2021 while it needs to wait a decade to know the fruit.
‘’The new educational roadmap is unique from the past educational roadmaps due to give the priority points of vocational with realization, using indigenous languages, TVET interacting with industries as well as research, TVET starts from grade nine, disability and special talented students join as per their interests and give advance technology among others.’’
Due to the intimacy of teachers for education, they know the challenges that could be faced to ensure quality education in the country. So the new road map is mainly prepared through obtaining inputs from teachers. In this aspect, teachers have been playing an indispensable role to form creative and intelligent generation to scale up the overall nation’s development, he added.
According to Demis, training was provided for stakeholders to know the purpose of a new educational road map and they help the ongoing progress of the country. However, it does not mean that the mission is accomplished in terms of providing training while it continuing which have not yet addressable.
On the other hand, ensuring quality education without improving benefits or living condition of teachers is unthinkable. In this regard, the Ministry is on the way of establishing Teachers Service Commission and Curriculum and Research Institution across the country which helps to provide training, upgrading their educational status, position, levelling salary and the like.
The education sector is a source of skilled human resource. However, since changing human attitude takes a long time, economists highly argue that education is not productive. It is rather a consumer good. To change this attitude, the Ministry has provided training on the role of skilled manpower.
Currently, Ethiopia has more than 300 higher educational institutions both public and private. All of them need qualified teachers to ensure quality education.
He noted that experts from the USA, Europe, and Asian countries have provided advise to Ethiopia during the new educational road map preparation specifically on how teaching became the elite professionals in their countries.
Particularly, ensuring quality education is not only the responsibility of government; it is rather the responsibility of each citizen. Therefore, the road map needs to accept religious institutions, private sectors and the like to discuss and ensure quality education throughout the country, he describes.
The Ethiopian Herald September 21, 2019
BY MESERET BEHAILU
