Ensuring quality, fair and accessible education aiming at creating qualified, skilled and ethically fit human power is not only the mandate of government’s higher educational institutions, but also private institutions, said Dr. Zerihun Kebede, Director, Private Higher Education Institutions, Follow up and Support Directorate at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
He noted this on the forum held recently, focusing on higher education relevance and quality with stakeholders. Heterogeneous views were reflected from both (government and private) sides largely emphasizing on the defects of the other party though the objective of the session was to share constructive ideas that create conducive platform.
According to Dr. Zerihun, private higher educational institutions deserve support from the government because of their contribution for the nation’s social, political and economic growth; in fact, the support relies on their obedience to the legal system. One of the main problems prevailing in the private higher education institutions is illicit deeds as to Tsegaye Channie, higher expert of follow up and support for private higher education institutions. For instance, in some institutions, ceasing programs before graduating admitted students due to different reasons like lack of instructors is the major one.
Others are offering degrees in old curriculum especially in law courses, launching institutions in remote rural weredas where there is impossible to provide tutor, inflated grade reports and so on. These illicit deeds should be circumvented through corrective measures. Empowering leaders of private institutions through providing training along with the leaders of government institutions is a part of this.
Their institutional organizations also need to be improved and Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA) is working on it. Dr. Molla Tsegaye, chairperson, the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions, on his part raised the challenges the institutions are facing. As to him, though some challenges are mentioned by government side, they are not exhaustively addressed. Among these are inapplicable of the 2011 teachers’ licensing and relicensing guideline, restricted weekly credit hour of teaches to 12, admission of students only once a year, number of students not exceeding 50,000 are few ones. Private higher institutions therefore, as to Dr. Molla, are requesting government to revisit the anchoring proclamations, regulations and guidelines. Other owners and representatives of private colleges and universities have also commented and raised questions regarding fortune of the sector.
According to them, the sector has been neglected for the past 20 years and it is on the critical phase of crossing the line or failing. On one hand, thriving of the sector in accommodating large number of students is encouraging. On the other hand, negative perception regarding the challenges and the reality of the sector and lack of support placed it on risk corner. What the government really desires from the sector should be made clear whether to merely be complementary or stand by its own to bring about change.
The destination of the sector in the coming 10 and 15 years must be visualized and the negative elements magnified in the newly prepared roadmap should be revisited, they noted. Gebeyaw Tiruneh from Gandhi Medical and Business College underscored that the problems are systemic, intrinsic and organic so that they are not as simple as such trying to solve in a mechanistic and operational approach. To come up with the solution, investing on human development is crucial. He quoted Aristotle’s saying, “Educating the brain without educating the heart is not at all an education”.
Therefore, attitudinal change that admits the role of private sector cannot be placed aside to attain the desired common understanding. Government officials from higher education sector have reflected on the comments and questions. Dr. Andualem Admassie, Director of HERQA said that the number of private higher institutions is increasing dramatically as it is perceived as a profitable business. So that, they are working on empowering their institution in human resource and preparing action plan aiming at identifying those are obedient to the law and go in the contrary.
Accoding to Dr. Zerihun, the number of students in GTP II is planned to be over one million considering the share the private sector accommodates. The follow up and support the government provides basically is not for penalty purpose, rather, enabling them enriching their capacity. On the conclusion, Dr. Hirut Woldemariam, Minister, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, commented on some issues.
The problems of the institutions are multilayer. She said, “Blaming each other restrains us from moving forward so, instead, working in accompany constitutes paving our way”. To this end, policy shift is demanding and a 25 years roadmap is ready for study to be designed in the way it comprises all aspects and elements of higher education whether governmental or private. For this purpose, an advisory council led by a state minister is formed aiming to facilitating regular meeting. “Amid the fundamental concerns of the policy is human development which all of us share,” she said. There is high limitation in providing rational and ethical graduates to the market almost in all higher institutions.
So, motivational speeches by eminent persons are arranged aiming at molding self-esteemed generation and students are encouraged to engage themselves in voluntary service one Saturday every month for the surrounding community, she noted.
The Ethiopian Herald January 29 /2019
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
