Ethiopia’s ‘Half-Cooked’ Graduates
OPINION By Samuel Getachew –
As Ethiopia continues to produce a record number of university and college graduates like never before, what is becoming alarming is the quality, not the quantity, of these graduates.
Since the Ethiopian government decided to revitalize the old educational system via its Growth and Transformation Plan at the beginning of the Ethiopian millennium 16 years ago, the country has been hell bent in trying to provide educational opportunities to its citizens at all cost.
From having just handful public universities, it has now progressed to have over 30 universities across the country in less than two decades. In addition to these universities, there are many private institutions that have been created, catering to almost all the desires of the country’s 90 million plus population. It seems access and choice have become the norm, while quality is becoming a rare commodity.
Even Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has described the new graduates as “half-cooked”. He has promised to look at the shortcomings of the system and report back. He should.
No education is good enough, when the foundation and quality of it is being doubted and questioned in the open. In its graduates, it seems, Ethiopia has managed to create an easy path to qualification while compromising the reputation of quality education found within the country.
In the process, it has constructed a mill-factory like environment in its sacred educational system, where an easy entrance and graduation is a guarantee no matter what, with little success in the arena of employment. This is no longer healthy as Ethiopia moves to a status of respectability in the world.
Read more at: Addis Fortune
“half-cooked”? Non diplomatic word from PM. Is he insulting himself. I’m sad for the students. There is no gap analysis of which majors are demanded in market. Secondly we didn’t grow up discovering our talents and aptitudes so that we shall choose our passion major…it goes on bro
Focus needs to be on massive vocational training to meet the technical demands of industrial economy moving to Ethiopia due to cheap electricity. Enough paper tigers.
-Ato Samuel, I read this kind of three paragraph criticisms all the time, and what I do not read is no one gives a solution.
-What is the solution you suggest to solve this?
-Do you think 30 Universities are too many for 90mill people?
-How many Universities was enough in your mind?
-How do you measure the quality of the education system?
-You see students and decide they are half baked or you compare -it to the ratio of good students?
Please don’t throw this small hit and run papers. We like to know what you would have done if you are in the place of the Ministry of Education.
Cheers