Wondwosen Tamrat

St Mary's University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia · School of Graduate Studies

This article narrates the global challenges of COBID- 19 on private higher education and the way forward

This study was conducted to explore the impacts of COVID 19 on the academic and administrative operations of public and private higher education institutions in Ethiopia. It also examines higher education institutions’ responses and the lessons of experience gained since the onset of the pandemic. The findings revealed that the pandemic has signifi...

East African higher education nonstate reality and thought significantly echo global tendencies, notably in the developing world generally and Sub-Saharan Africa specifically. Paramount empirically, especially since the 1990s, is the spectacular growth in raw private enrollment. Although unprecedented public growth has blunted the private sector's...

Ethiopia boasts more than a million students in its burgeoning higher education sector which has witnessed phenomenal growth over the last two decades. In this context, transnational higher education (TNHE) has been widely touted as a viable means of addressing human resource capacity building needs and quality educational provisions. Using documen...

The article talks about the importance of grooming women to assume leadership positions in higher education institutions.

Purpose This study aims to assess the extent to which sustainable development practices are prevalent at the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia. The assessment focused on identifying the college’s inclusion of the sustainable development agenda in its policy statements, various functions and practices. De...

This study explored, through a quantitative case study approach, the views of academics toward the importance and components of an internal quality assurance system of St Mary’s University in Ethiopia. The findings revealed that while academics value positively the importance of an internal quality assurance system in general and institutional fram...

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The 2020 Technical and Vocational Education and Training or TVET Strategy and Policy issued by the ministry of science and higher education in Ethiopia calls for improvements in the system, but these reforms have been part of policy directions dating back more than a decade. To effect change, a focus on implementation may be needed now.

This study was conducted to examine the rate of delay, explanatory causes, and coping strategies of PhD candidates at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia's premier university, over the last ten years. Background Delayed graduation is a common theme in doctoral education around the world. It continues to draw the concern of governments, universities, a...

This study explores doctoral students’ views about the support schemes and resources deployed to run PhD programs at one public university in Ethiopia. The research used questionnaire, interview and documentary evidence as principal data collection tools and involved 164 doctoral students at four purposely selected colleges of the university. The f...

This commentary explores the profile of Ethiopia's innovation system and the need for mitigating existing challenges.

The study was undertaken to map and assess the status and practice of higher education quality assurance in Africa. The specific objectives of this scoping study were to: a. scan the overall quality assurance landscape and experiences at the continental level; b. identify practices and principles that govern the internal and external quality assura...

Student attrition remains a serious challenge for universities across the globe despite the extended attention it continues to attract. Given the meagre research available in the Global South and particularly in Africa, this study was conducted to assess the status of student attrition in 15 Ethiopian public universities. The study examined the sco...

Despite its importance, the issue of PhD delays receives little attention from researchers and policy-makers. The paper reports the results of a study the authors recently conducted to bridge the existing research gap and explore the completion rate of PhD programmes, factors that affect degree completion time and the coping strategies of students...

This paper presents the findings of a study that sought to examine the impact of the pandemic on the private higher education (PHE) sector in Ethiopia.

More robust systems are necessary to encourage academics in Ethiopia to increase their research output through ethical channels. Predatory publishing has been enticing many academics to seek short cuts to get published quickly and earn promotions without rigorous scrutiny of their work.

This article examines the provision of doctoral education in Ethiopia and its implications for African higher education. Despite the role given to doctoral education toward achieving economic development and improving the quality of higher education, the resources for running PhD programs are lacking in many African countries. More efforts should b...

HEIs can have a role in addressing the employment gender gap in the workplace.

This study was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the private higher education (PHE) sector in Ethiopia. The study employed a mixed-methods design and used diary and survey questionnaires as key data generation tools. The results of the study revealed that the pandemic has severely affected the academic and business operations of PHE ins...

Despite strong encouragement toward self- employment, there are many challenges that can hinder the process..

en Over the last few decades, the active promotion of or government acquiescence in a surge of private higher education (PHE) has become a common phenomenon globally. This study examines the specific contributions and pitfalls of private higher education institutions (PHEIs) using questionnaires, interviews and documentary analysis as data gatherin...

This study was conducted to examine the practices, challenges, and prospects of using accreditation, external quality audit, and internal quality assurance as major components of the quality assurance (QA) regime in the Ethiopian higher education sector. The research used documentary evidence and interview as principal means of investigation. The f...

This small article discusses the challenges of producing qualified TVET trainers in the Ethiopian context.

This article examines how the inherent characteristics of private highereducation institutions can impinge on the level and magnitude of theirinternationalisation efforts. It argues that although their current profilesmay disadvantage them in the internationalisation process, which oftenfavours strong institutions from the outset, private higher ed...

This chapter explores the practice of self- financing as a new stream of access to higher education.

This presentation offers a highlight of the major impacts of COVID- 19 on the higher education systems of developing countries.

This Handbook covers a wide range of historical perspectives, realities, research and practice of internationalization of hig her education (IHE) in the global south and makes comparisons to IHE issues in the global north. Drawing on the expertise of 32 academics and policy makers based in and originating from four key regions of focus: Sub-Saharan...

Ethiopia’s interest to participate in the competitive global market economy has put technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at the centre of its education policy and strategy, but the participation of women in certain areas remains worrisome.

The launch of an international higher education (IHE) policy by the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) is expected to support focused internationalisation efforts in the years to come.

Steps taken towards the establishment of a differentiated higher education system in Ethiopia should be seen as a major achievement. However, the successful implementation of such a system requires much more than merely identifying institutions in terms of new institutional categories.

Without the creation of support systems for refugee students in higher education, particularly around language of instruction competency, the noble ambitions of the country’s progressive refugee law and refugee education strategy are likely to remain unfulfilled.

Refugees and Higher Education provides a cross-disciplinary lens on one American university’s approach to studying the policies, practices, and experiences associated with the higher education of refugee background students. The focus is not only on refugee education as an issue of access and equity, but also on this phenomenon as seen through the...

This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on employment in Ethiopia.

This article argues the need for building the knowledge base about private higher education through a multi- stakeholder involvement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to countless academic and policy pieces on its initial and predicted impacts in all social fields, higher education prominently included. This working paper has two principal purposes, inter-related and overlapping. One is to provide the best possible first answers to the pressing question of how COVID affects and will...

This study was conducted to gauge stakeholders' views towards the provision of private higher education in Ethiopia. More specifically, the study sought to examine stakeholders' perception regarding the importance of private higher education; academic provisions of private higher education institutes as contrasted with the public higher education s...

This article describes the benefits of foreign qualification recognition and the need for proper arrangements of recognition.

This Handbook covers a wide range of historical perspectives, realities, research and practice of internationalization of higher education (IHE) in the global south and makes comparisons to IHE issues in the global north. Drawing on the expertise of 32 academics and policy makers based in and originating from four key regions of focus: Sub-Saharan...

This article briefly outlines the role African HEIs are playing in addressing community needs at the time of COVID 19

This article examines the challenges and uncertainties that the African higher education sector is experiencing due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and some of the responses so far

The article argues for civility and cooperation in combating the impacts of COVID-19.

The shift to online learning in response to the COVID- 19 threat calls for global cooperation

From online learning inequities to economic disaster, COVID-19 presents severe challenges to the African higher education system and could seriously impact future government support for the sector, but it could also bring about much-needed changes with regard to distance learning.

This article briefly presents how one university responded to the impending threats of COVID-19

This study explores the operational features and governance challenges of family-owned private higher education institutions (FoMHEIs) in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s directive regarding the promotion of academics in the university system is a timely attempt to standardise procedures across the sector, but there are some new promotion criteria that may cause problems and deserve a second look.

This article examines the complementary role the private higher education sector can play in times of public crisis and the factors that influence such a role.

This article examines the potential of ICT and how it can be used to improve the higher education sector in Ethiopia.

This small article attempts to scan efforts being made to close the gender gap in Ethiopian higher education.

Increasing the number of PhD students without providing them with the necessary support and resources needed to achieve quality educational outcomes is unlikely to serve either national development or individual institutional needs.

How do we balance global outlooks with local needs? In countries like Ethiopia, the drive towards internationalisation coexists alongside the need to tailor higher education to local cultures and realities. This commentary examines the interplay between internationalisation and 'Ethiopianisation', illustrating some of the nuances around partnering...

This study was conducted to explore the level, type and quality of student participation in the governance milieu of twenty public universities in Ethiopia based on secondary data availed at a national level. The findings reveal that despite their demands and aspirations, students' participation in university governance is still at its lowest ebb a...

This article briefly examines the role of employers towards addressing the challenges of graduate employability.

This article examines a new plan set to reintroduce the freshman program in the Ethiopian higher education sector.

Higher education institutions and vocational colleges need to familiarise themselves with the new job creation plans and goals of government and should begin thinking about how they can create the graduates that are required for the future workforce

This study examines the legislative framework of the Ethiopian higher education sector in light of the corresponding roles and expectations it assigns to and the distinctions it draws between public and private institutions of higher learning. The findings reveal that public and private institutions are equally expected to deliver similar responsib...

New refugee legislation in Ethiopia can be regarded as a significant step in the protection of refugee rights, including widening opportunities for higher education. However, giving more opportunities to refugees in a country that provides access to higher education to only 12% of its own eligible student population is not an easy task in the absen...

Ethiopian universities are calling for more autonomy in the way in which they can allocate the funds they receive from government and spend the money they earn through alternative income streams, but while there have been promising shifts in the legislation, not much has changed in practice.

This articles examines the migration of health professionals from Ethiopia.

The Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA) was established in Ethiopia to spearhead efforts in the assurance of quality at a national level. This study examined the views of private providers about the operational features and practices of HERQA. Findings revealed that despite its significant contributions in formalising and populari...

This study seeks to examine the profile and perspectives of Ethiopian students on the relevance and significance of their foreign studies on subsequent employment opportunities. The key objectives of the study are to: identify the profiles and trajectories of international students of Ethiopian origin; and analyze the significance of an internation...

The Ethiopian technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector appears to be failing to deliver on its promises to develop the mid-level skilled manpower the country needs to spur its industry-led growth strategy aimed at transforming Ethiopia into a middle-income country. While sector reforms are now in place, the need for improvement...

Despite the availability of policy and some institutional attempts, the existing level of university-industry linkages in Ethiopia is still at a rudimentary stage and is hindered by a lack of professional management.

In spite of the potential benefits of hiring expats in addressing the deficiencies of the Ethiopian higher education sector, attracting, recruiting, and retaining international faculty continues to be a challenging task.

Although diversified strategies have most often been suggested as the panacea for addressing the financial challenges of Ethiopian universities, equally important is the capacity of institutions to properly utilize their existing capacities and resources.

This short articles examines the role of university boards in Ethiopia and calls for a change in their composition, capacity and delivery.

This article offers a brief discussion of the achievements and gaps in Ethiopian higher education in terms of addressing issues of inclusion and attainment.

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Ethiopia is encouraging higher education institutions to give more attention to their community service agendas, a responsibility which is often sidelined in favour of teaching and learning, and research. While this is a welcome development, its success depends on informed participation by the communi...

This study examines the challenges of Eritrean refugees attending their tertiary education in selected private medical colleges in Ethiopia, and the support schemes available to help them cope with their problems. The research involves a sample of 40 randomly selected refugee students and uses focus group discussion and interview as principal metho...

Ethiopia’s not-for-profit private higher education institutions suffer from many of the same challenges as their abundant ‘for-profit’ counterparts, such as staffing and lack of research capacity, but they also enjoy government support and, with their greater emphasis on smaller classes, selective recruitment and quality, not-for-profit private ins...