Should Ethiopia consider merging its universities?

Ethiopia’s higher education landscape has undergone a significant transformation since the 1990s. Prior to this period, the country had only two universities – and access to higher education was extremely limited.

During this time, the rate of return on higher education in developing countries was perceived to be low, leading international funding organisations to view the expansion of higher education as a luxury rather than a necessity.

Consequently, initiatives aimed at increasing access to higher education received little support. However, this perspective shifted in the early 2000s when the global development community began to emphasise the importance of expanding higher education to foster economic growth and social development.

Higher education expansion

This paradigm shift regarding the contribution of higher education to development prompted Ethiopia to embark on an ambitious plan to expand its higher education system and improve citizens’ access to it.

As a result, in about two decades, the number of public universities increased from two to 47, and about 270 private higher education institutions were opened.

While the expansion has increased the geographic distribution of higher education institutions, the number of universities remains insufficient relative to the country’s population of about 130 million.

Ethiopia’s higher education system is often described as elitist, as it currently provides access to less than 10% of the age cohort eligible for higher education. Despite these efforts, the expansion of higher education in Ethiopia has been fraught with challenges.

One major issue has been the politicisation of the university establishment. Rather than being guided by geographic advantages, academic rationales or regional development needs, political motivations often drive the selection of locations for new universities.

As the immediate past prime minister, Hailemariam Dessalegn, noted, regional and zonal leaders frequently lobbied the federal government to establish universities in their areas.

This approach was largely aimed at appeasing various ethnic groups and maintaining political stability. As a result, universities were established in the two city administrations, namely Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, and all except one regional state, Harari.

Challenges associated with expansion

The rapid expansion of universities has also raised concerns about the quality of education. While the increase in the number of institutions has created more opportunities for students, it has often been done without adequate attention to the quality of teaching, infrastructure and faculty.

This issue is particularly acute in recently established universities, which struggle with a lack of highly qualified staff and insufficient infrastructure.

Despite these challenges, these universities had been able to enrol a significant number of students until recently, thanks to a centralised admission and placement system managed by the ministry of education. Under this system, universities declare their capacity, and the ministry allocates students accordingly.

Public universities have not had their funding determined by performance, as the existing system focuses on factors like student enrolment, institutional size or past budget allocations.

This method has been criticised for failing to encourage academic excellence and research achievements.

Critics suggest that introducing a performance-based funding could motivate universities to improve their educational standards and operational efficiency, ultimately benefiting students and society as a whole.

Recently, the ministry of education revealed that, starting in the next fiscal year, beginning July 2025, it will implement performance-based budget allocations and has already signed performance agreements with all public universities.

Emerging challenges confronting universities

In recent years, universities have been facing emerging challenges due to two key factors. Firstly, the rise of ethnic-based tensions and conflicts across the country has created widespread frustration and fear among students and their families.

Many parents are now reluctant to send their children to universities located in regions embroiled in ethnic politics and conflict, particularly if these universities are far from their homes. As a result, many universities in conflict-affected areas are experiencing declining student enrolment, which disrupts the academic and social environment on campuses.

Secondly, the introduction of a new national school-leaving or university entry certificate examination and pass requirement have drastically reduced the number of students eligible for university admission. Over the past three years, an average of only 3.9% scored 50% and above.

This sharp decline in pass rates has created a bottleneck in the education system, leaving many students unable to transition into higher education. Consequently, many universities are now enrolling fewer than a quarter of the students they once did, leading to underutilised facilities and challenges in maintaining academic programmes and staff.

Furthermore, students who do qualify for higher education increasingly prefer to attend universities in the capital city, their home regions, or private institutions in Addis Ababa, further exacerbating the challenges faced by universities in other parts of the country.

Merger as an alternative solution

It is evident that, while the expansion of higher education has improved access significantly, it has also brought to light deep concerns regarding quality. Over the past three years, many universities have been operating with substantially smaller student populations.

This trend is likely to persist as the cohorts admitted before the new secondary school examination, or university entrance exam, graduate and if the government discontinues its remedial programme, which was designed for students who did not achieve high enough scores in their secondary school-leaving exams to secure direct university admission.

This issue, along with the emerging challenge of students refusing to enrol in the universities to which they are assigned by the ministry, could further impact institutions that rely on central student placement and non-performance-based budget allocations.

Combined with the persistent issues of low educational quality and weak research performance, Ethiopia’s higher education system has reached a critical crossroads.

In this context, I argue that tackling these challenges will require bold and strategic decisions, including the potential merger of universities.

As the literature shows, university mergers are often pursued to enhance educational quality, improve financial sustainability, or adapt to shifting demographics and educational needs. Countries such as Finland, the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, Australia and Denmark have implemented university mergers for various reasons. In Ethiopia, merging universities could serve as a strategic response to partially address some of the major challenges universities face.

Although certain regional states, political elites and their supporters might resist such a move, the federal government should emphasise the rationales and goals behind the mergers, as they offer a chance to transition from simply increasing access to ensuring the provisioning of quality education.

Mergers should, however, be carefully planned and informed by thorough studies. The strategy should be forward-looking and capable of accommodating the merger of recently differentiated universities (research universities, comprehensive universities, universities of applied sciences, science and technology universities and universities of education) if need be.

This approach would allow for greater flexibility in structuring universities, enabling them to house diverse colleges and institutes specialising in research, applied sciences, or comprehensive studies. It would move away from the current one-size-fits-all model and encourage specialisation and innovation.

That said, mergers alone are not a complete solution. The government must also prioritise investments in faculty development, infrastructure, curriculum reform, and general education to ensure that the higher education system can meet the needs of Ethiopia’s growing population and contribute to the country’s long-term development goals.

Dr Abebaw Yirga Adamu is a professor of higher education and director of quality assurance at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He was the director of the Ethiopian Institute for Higher Education, a Global Dialogue fellow of NAFSA: Association of International Educators (2019-21), and International Research and Exchanges Board, or IREX, university administration support programme research management fellow. He can be contacted at abebaw.yirga@aau.edu.et.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.