After a weekend of exploring the city and visiting the nearby island monasteries on Lake Tana, we got into the hard work of why we are here: understanding the educational system in Ethiopia.
During a campus tour at Bahir Dar University, Dr. Zewdu Emiru explained more about how the higher education system works here. It sounds ideal, yet there are challenges in sustaining this system and there are equity issues as well. ( Photo caption: At left, a canopy of jacaranda trees on the Bahir Dar University campus.)
Brief overview of higher ed
Like in America, high school students take an entrance exam for university and if their scores are high enough, they can be accepted into one of the 33 public universities. Twenty years ago there were only two universities, but a government push to improve the country’s social and economic status has expanded the higher education system profoundy.
It takes three years to earn a bachelor’s degree in Ethiopia and there is no cost up front – even room and board is covered by the Ethiopian government. The total cost of the degree is 12,000 to 15,000 birr, which is equivalent to about $500 to $700. Most students find jobs right after graduation because, as Zewdu explained, the government is responsible for employing them. Once employed, they begin paying back the investment, which may take five to 10 years.
I asked what happens to the students who don’t get government jobs right away. Zewdu said, “If they don’t have a job, then they can’t pay. The government will negotiate.” Hmm, quite different from the U.S. educational system in which the government has no responsibility to provide jobs and students begin loan payments right away at a high interest rate, whether they are employed or not.
How long can this system last? “Resources are becoming a problem,” he said. The number of graduates keeps rising and there are only so many government jobs available. “No one knows (how long this can be kept up.) That is a challenge,” Zewdu said.
Primary education in Ethiopia
The increased emphasis on higher education mirrors an earlier emphasis to increase access to primary education. Until 1974, Ethiopia was run by monarchies. A communist take-over by a group called the Derg broke up the country’s feudal system, making it possible to empower the people. Until then, education had been for an elite few, then the Derg declared that education should be free and for the masses, especially in rural areas, for economic development. What we have read is that what had been a relatively good education for the privileged turned into a poor education for all children children. Drought and famine enhanced the challenges.
Despite its focus on expanding education, the Derg was known for its brutality. More than 100,000 people died while it was in power and many fled the country during this time, settling in Europe and the United States. Years of resistance fighting eventually ended the Derg’s regime. General elections have been held since the 1990s.
According to the World Bank, education remained a priority when the new government took over in 1991. The number of primary and secondary schools significantly increased between 1996-2009. Education has risen to 23 percent of government spending and is now one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 85 percent of enrollment in schools today is in urban schools, and the government is addressing this lack of access in rural areas.
While access to primary education has improved greatly from what it had been, the World Bank reports that raising the quality has been less successful. Learning achievement remains low, in part due to politicized curriculum and poorly prepared teachers.
The impact on higher ed
As we know in the U.S., what happens in K-12 affects higher education. Drop out, especially in rural areas, is high, and boys tend to remain in school longer than girls. This has translated to women constituting just 26 percent of university undergraduates in 2010, compared to about 55 percent in the U.S. To keep higher education in perspective, the country’s Ministry of Education reports that 5 percent of Ethiopian males were in university compared to 2 percent of females.
There are many issues affecting women’s access to higher education. During a visit to non-profit Health and Wholeness Ethiopia on Monday, we learned that arranged marriages that begin as early as age 8, abduction, sex trafficking and prostitution can keep girls from being in healthy, supportive homes with access to schooling. Those who do not experience these issues may have family responsibilities that keep them from pursuing school, not to mention the effects of living in a patriarchal society that appreciates women who are silent.
But as one female student told us Monday at Bahir Dar University, “education changes everything.” For those do finish primary school and enroll in college – and the even more select few who choose to pursue graduate studies, which is at their own expense – they are becoming more assertive, less silent and want a better future for the women who follow them.
During a campus tour at Bahir Dar University, Dr. Zewdu Emiru explained more about how the higher education system works here. It sounds ideal, yet there are challenges in sustaining this system and there are equity issues as well. ( Photo caption: At left, a canopy of jacaranda trees on the Bahir Dar University campus.)
Brief overview of higher ed
Like in America, high school students take an entrance exam for university and if their scores are high enough, they can be accepted into one of the 33 public universities. Twenty years ago there were only two universities, but a government push to improve the country’s social and economic status has expanded the higher education system profoundy.
It takes three years to earn a bachelor’s degree in Ethiopia and there is no cost up front – even room and board is covered by the Ethiopian government. The total cost of the degree is 12,000 to 15,000 birr, which is equivalent to about $500 to $700. Most students find jobs right after graduation because, as Zewdu explained, the government is responsible for employing them. Once employed, they begin paying back the investment, which may take five to 10 years.
I asked what happens to the students who don’t get government jobs right away. Zewdu said, “If they don’t have a job, then they can’t pay. The government will negotiate.” Hmm, quite different from the U.S. educational system in which the government has no responsibility to provide jobs and students begin loan payments right away at a high interest rate, whether they are employed or not.
How long can this system last? “Resources are becoming a problem,” he said. The number of graduates keeps rising and there are only so many government jobs available. “No one knows (how long this can be kept up.) That is a challenge,” Zewdu said.
Primary education in Ethiopia
The increased emphasis on higher education mirrors an earlier emphasis to increase access to primary education. Until 1974, Ethiopia was run by monarchies. A communist take-over by a group called the Derg broke up the country’s feudal system, making it possible to empower the people. Until then, education had been for an elite few, then the Derg declared that education should be free and for the masses, especially in rural areas, for economic development. What we have read is that what had been a relatively good education for the privileged turned into a poor education for all children children. Drought and famine enhanced the challenges.
Despite its focus on expanding education, the Derg was known for its brutality. More than 100,000 people died while it was in power and many fled the country during this time, settling in Europe and the United States. Years of resistance fighting eventually ended the Derg’s regime. General elections have been held since the 1990s.
According to the World Bank, education remained a priority when the new government took over in 1991. The number of primary and secondary schools significantly increased between 1996-2009. Education has risen to 23 percent of government spending and is now one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 85 percent of enrollment in schools today is in urban schools, and the government is addressing this lack of access in rural areas.
While access to primary education has improved greatly from what it had been, the World Bank reports that raising the quality has been less successful. Learning achievement remains low, in part due to politicized curriculum and poorly prepared teachers.
The impact on higher ed
As we know in the U.S., what happens in K-12 affects higher education. Drop out, especially in rural areas, is high, and boys tend to remain in school longer than girls. This has translated to women constituting just 26 percent of university undergraduates in 2010, compared to about 55 percent in the U.S. To keep higher education in perspective, the country’s Ministry of Education reports that 5 percent of Ethiopian males were in university compared to 2 percent of females.
There are many issues affecting women’s access to higher education. During a visit to non-profit Health and Wholeness Ethiopia on Monday, we learned that arranged marriages that begin as early as age 8, abduction, sex trafficking and prostitution can keep girls from being in healthy, supportive homes with access to schooling. Those who do not experience these issues may have family responsibilities that keep them from pursuing school, not to mention the effects of living in a patriarchal society that appreciates women who are silent.
But as one female student told us Monday at Bahir Dar University, “education changes everything.” For those do finish primary school and enroll in college – and the even more select few who choose to pursue graduate studies, which is at their own expense – they are becoming more assertive, less silent and want a better future for the women who follow them.