Table of Contents

INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

NUMBER 40, SUMMER 2005

Private Higher Education in Ethiopia: The Current Landscape

Damtew Teferra
Damtew Teferra is assistant research professor and founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Higher Education in Africa at the Center for International Higher Education, Campion Hall, Boston College, 02467, USA. E-mail: teferra@bc.edu.

Ethiopian higher education is undergoing a quiet transformation both in public and private domains. Until a few years ago, Ethiopia had only two public universities. There are now eight such universities. A major campaign is currently underway to establish another 13 (10 new) universities-at a cost of about $1.4 billion. More than 172,000 students are enrolled in the country's higher education institutions, of which 77 percent are public institutions. More than 100,000 students—88 percent in public institutions—are enrolled in degree programs.

Ethiopia now boasts about 60 private colleges, which enroll about a quarter of all students. Most of these institutions are based in the capital, Addis Ababa, with a few branch campuses in major towns. Virtually all of these institutions were established in the last half decade. While a closer analysis is warranted, the enrollment rate appears to have been climbing rapidly for several years; but the pace has now moderated, and in a few cases a decline has been reported.

Most private institutions in Ethiopia, like others in Africa, offer courses that render good employment opportunities. The programs include business administration, computer studies, and information technology (IT). Others also provide training in health care and teacher education. A few of these colleges also offer distance education to tens of thousands of students.

Unique Scenarios
There are some notable scenarios in the Ethiopian private higher education system. One institution, for example, reports having 10 percent students on scholarship while many others also claim a large number of students holding either full or partial scholarships. One health care institution grants full scholarship to all its students who after graduation will work for the private hospital that owns the college.

Many leaders of private institutions recognize the importance of raising the institutional profile through research and publication. A few institutions have established research offices, earmarked resources, assigned personnel, and published journals and annual proceedings. One prominent private institution, for example, claims to evaluate faculty promotion based on research productivity.

Private institutions are not all born equal, and thus each institution is unique in character. While many fear competition as a threat, though only a few admit this to be the case, a handful have already established good reputations. For instance, in one prestigious IT college a minimum six-month enrollment waiting period is the norm. Overall, the highly regarded colleges feel that they are "publicly accredited"-meaning they are more concerned about public opinion than about the evaluation by governmental regulatory bodies.

Regulatory Regimes
All private institutions operate under the direct supervision of the national, regional, and subregional educational offices across which accreditation authority is distributed. All private institutions are required to register and become preaccredited before they start operation. Once the institution receives a peer-reviewed preaccredited status and operates for one year, it normally receives full accreditation. An institution is evaluated every two years, and virtually no institution has its accreditation revoked.

Private institutions are required to obtain recognition not only from educational offices but also the Office of Investment and the Ministry of Health-the latter if they run a health care program. To make matters more intricate the educational offices that grant accreditation vary based on the kind of credentials institutions require. While degree-granting institutions (12+3 and 12+4) are accredited by the central office of the Ministry of Education, those that grant diplomas (10+3) are licensed by a regional educational office; other low-end credentials are licensed by a subregional educational office.

Registration costs money and time. Institutions that offer a variety of credentials and operate branch campuses in the regions find the procedures especially cumbersome and costly. Many also criticize the lack of requisite expertise and professionalism in certain educational bureaus.

Challenges Confronting the Enterprise
Private higher education in Ethiopia is a highly regulated enterprise, to the resentment of the community of private providers. While a few skeptics allege shady practices in bestowing recognition, they all decry the stringent regulations. Many contend that some of the imposed regulations, such as the ratio of senior personnel, cannot be met even by some public institutions. Many fear that the ephemeral nature of policies governing private institutions would put them at great financial risk. While many recognize the need to regulate the enterprise to ensure educational quality, many call for a stable and conducive policy, less red tape, and more operational flexibility.

Leaders of private colleges deeply regret the lack of recognition and appreciation for their role in the development of the nation. They also allege that the government treats them as any other for-profit enterprise and insist that the ministry is much more interested in regulating them than in addressing their pressing issues.

Second, most private institutions vigorously complain about the high cost of leased buildings in the capital. No wonder some of the institutions operate in a less-conducive environment, which often is a subject of contestation for accreditation. Many regret the slow progress of the land procurement process and lack of easy access to bank loans.

Third, private institutions are confronted by a shortage of highly qualified personnel. Faculty in areas such as IT and business management are in short supply. The common practice of poaching faculty from public institutions has now also spread to private colleges. Some critics describe these faculty as "taxi" professors and charge that they spend more time in a taxi commuting from one institution to another than in a class. To discourage this, few private colleges restrict their full-time faculty from engaging in moonlighting. Private institutions that have already established brand and credibility—and enroll a large number of students—have more full-time faculty than others. A few even brag about their success in poaching faculty from public institutions, especially those based outside the capital.

Conclusion
Without doubt, private institutions provide crucial service to the nation as the country struggles to increase access. In the light of burgeoning demand for higher education and limited capacity of public institutions, a more favorable policy and a positive attitude toward private colleges are highly warranted. The burden rests as much on the private colleges to address the prime concern of the government in maintaining the educational quality and integrity. Some institutions operate in the education landscape with considerable disparity in capacity, ownership, motive, and commitment, hence necessitating a stringent—but fair and expedient—scrutiny. To be sure, "natural selection" will take its course and weed out the weakest institutions. But the government cannot sit idly by until nature takes its course. That said, despite the commendable intentions of the strategy to regulate private institutions, implementing the policy will require meeting many challenges.

There is a need for a more positive and constructive engagement between the private providers and the various regulatory bodies. The establishment of the Association of Private Institutions in Ethiopia, which now comprises half the private institutions, is expected to play a vital role in addressing the issues and concerns of all the parties involved.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number40/p9_Teferra.htm