What next for a partially differentiated HE system?

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.

Triggered by a variety of academic and non-academic factors, the differentiation of the Ethiopian higher education system has been one of the major operational areas which the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) has been preoccupied with over the last two years.

A study commissioned by the ministry relating to this has recently been finalised with an outcome that brought forth the classification of Ethiopian universities into three groups.

While this is an achievement that needs to be welcomed, the differentiation process still appears to be incomplete and requires further considerations to address gaps and possible implementation challenges in the future.

Rationale

From only two universities at the end of the 1990s, Ethiopia has managed to establish 50 public universities and over 200 private higher education institutions in less than two decades.

The corresponding sector capacity changes have enabled the system to accommodate nearly a million students, from only tens of thousands in the 1990s.

Despite these changes, Ethiopia’s new public universities have been widely accused of being mere replicas of the oldest universities in structure, focus and even programme offerings.

Besides questioning its rationale, the excessive homogeneity within the system has grown to be a source of concern owing to its failure to create a more responsive and competitive system that promotes excellence and value for money.

The process

The differentiation scheme recently approved is an outcome of a study commissioned by MoSHE. The study was conducted by Ethiopian scholars drawn from the various universities and the Higher Education Strategy Center.

It involved generating a huge set of data used to determine the type of differentiation scheme to be introduced within the higher education system. The process included examining the current system, studying 43 public institutions, and drawing experiences from both the developing and developed world.

While primary data were collected from these sources through the field-based administration of questionnaires, secondary data were drawn from an extensive desk review. International visits were used to draw on experiences from countries where similar systems exist. Public consultative workshops were held that involved a wide range of stakeholders comprising university presidents, members of university change councils, teachers, academic staff, student representatives, state ministers of education, and university communities.

The outcome

The final output of the study is a classification model with specific criteria set to categorise universities on the basis of their current status and future potential. Accordingly, a three-category differentiation system that comprises research universities, universities of applied sciences and comprehensive universities was conceived.

According to the proposed scheme, research universities are those that undertake research and teaching with special focus on programme offerings at postgraduate level. Their teaching staff is supposed to comprise at least 50% PhD holders with annual publications in reputable journals.

While educational facilities commensurate with their teaching and research missions are expected to be available, at least 5% of the annual budget of research universities is to be allocated for research. These institutions are expected to establish strong academic and research collaborations with local, regional and international partners and to build high level research centres and facilities.

Eight universities, almost all belonging to the first generation of universities in Ethiopia, have been assigned to this group.

The second type of universities, universities of applied sciences, are supposed to undertake professional, practice-oriented teaching in varied programmes, forge strong linkages and engage in collaborative applied research with industries and business.

The staff profile of universities of applied sciences is expected to constitute 20% or more PhDs, with at least 5% having industry and-or business experience. These universities are primarily expected to align their curricula with the job market, collaborate closely and establish strong linkages with the world of work. They are also expected to promote a ‘culture of innovation’, by dedicating at least 30% of their facilities to innovation-related tasks. Fifteen universities that are assumed to fulfil these criteria have been classified as universities of applied science.

The third type of universities, comprehensive universities, are expected to undertake teaching and research in equal proportions with a greater focus on teaching. They are expected to offer multi-disciplinary programmes.

Eighty percent of students at comprehensive universities are expected to be enrolled at undergraduate level and at least 3% of the university budget is to be allocated for research. A total of 21 universities fulfilling these criteria have been assigned to this group.

Missing elements

From the outset, the differentiation document itself admits that there are some limitations in the proposed scheme. It is clear that what has been created is a partial system that still awaits more work and further refinement in future in order to be considered a fully-fledged national framework.

To begin with, there are institutions that have not been part of the design of the differentiation model. This includes institutions such as Addis Ababa Science and Technology University and Adama Science and Technology University which were groomed to achieve a specialised function and status within the system long before the differentiation project was initiated. The same is true for teacher training colleges and private institutions of higher learning.

Given the nature of the first two types of institutions, the differentiation scheme could have included a fourth category of ‘specialised universities’ which could have responded to existing gaps and handled similar needs in the future.

The initial focus on public universities has also excluded private institutions from the scheme but it is clear that this sector, which covers nearly 17% of the national higher education enrolment, cannot be neglected in a fully-fledged national system that needs to accommodate the diversified features of all forms of institutions.

There is limited information about how the lower education system should be aligned with the scheme proposed at the higher education level. The proposed differentiation scheme also lacks clarity in terms of the articulation that should operate within the types of institutions created and the implications thereof.

The way forward

The move towards the establishment of a differentiated higher education system in Ethiopia should be regarded as a major achievement of MoSHE, given the long-standing demands and need for such a framework. However, the successful implementation of such a system requires much more than identifying institutions by their new categories.

Among others, it requires responding to the aforementioned and related gaps and making the necessary preparations towards the successful implementation of the proposed changes.

As recognised by the study team entrusted to the task, the implementation of the differentiation scheme specifically needs to address the most important issues of policy support, structural changes and resource allocation.

Among others, the next phase demands that MoSHE galvanises universities, their community and relevant stakeholders towards the achievement of goals, responsibilities and specific functions crafted for the universities. Individual universities should also rise to the task of adjusting their systems and structures in a manner that allows them to respond to their new or modified roles.

Achieving such a huge and ambitious agenda requires the design of clear and workable strategic and operational plans that should help the accomplishment of the proposed scheme. It also demands a rigorous follow-up and corresponding support until such time as the system begins to operate in the required way.

Without such plans and concreted efforts, the differentiation proposal which has now attracted interest as a promising move will remain a change in name only.

Wondwosen Tamrat is an associate professor and founding president of St Mary’s University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a collaborating scholar of the Program for Research on Private Higher Education at the State University of New York at Albany, United States, and coordinator of the private higher education sub-cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa. He may be reached at preswond@smuc.edu.et or wondwosen@gmail.com.