… length of road, in kilometres, that was maintained in the first six months of this fiscal year, according to the Ethiopian Road Fund Office.
Month: February 2020
“It’s very easy.”
Bulcha Demeksa, prominent politician, told Addis Admas, about the challenges Ethiopia is facing, adding that it is unlike what Syria or Libya had to contend with. He said that challenges could be addressed if there was solidarity between some of the major ethnic groups.
Ethio telecom Cuts Tariff on Broadband, VPN Services
The state-owned telecom monopoly, Ethio telecom, has made tariff discounts on broadband internet and VPN services. The cut benefits residential users who will receive a 69pc discount, while 72pc and 65pc discounts will be given to VPN and enterprise users, respectively, Ethio telecom executives announced today. Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio telecom, made the announcement today at an event at the Sheraton Addis Hotel. The announcement came right after the company completed an expansion of its services at a cost of 748 million Br. The expansion, developed in partnership with the Chinese telecom giant ZTE, is expected to boost the speed of broadband internet connections for private users and enterprise subscribers by 3 to 4 fold.
Gov’t Drops Charges on Ermias Amelga, Alem Fitsum, 62 Others
The Office of the Attorney General dropped charges pressed against Ermias Amelga, founder of Access Capital Services, and Alem Fitsum, a hotel developer, who were charged with alleged corruption crimes.
He is among the 63 defendants who were charged with alleged corruption and human rights violations as well as perpetrating violence and attacks. Biniam Tewolde, the former director at the Information Network Security Agency, and Christian Tadele, a spokesperson for the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA), are also on the list.
Many of the defendants were charged in connection with the Metals & Engineering Corporation (MetEC), committing human rights abuses while serving the state, the twin attacks in Addis Abeba and Bahir Dar in June 2019 and violence in Sidama Zone as well as Bensahngul Gumuz Regional State. All charges have been dropped for those who were not in top leadership positions, according to Zinabu Tubu, communications director at the Attorney General Office.
The announcement of dropping the charge was made yesterday by Nigusu Tilahun, head of the press secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister. A week ago, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held a meeting with the senior leadership members of the Prosperity Party’s chapter for Tigray Regional State, who called for the terminations of charges against defendants.
Former Senior Economic Advisor Passes Away, in Hospital
Ethiopia’s longest serving economic advisor, Newayeab Gebreab, has passed away yesterday morning, while receiving medical treatment in the Nordic Hospital, in Addis Abeba.
He died around 10am, according to sources in the hospital. Neway was educated in the United Kingdom; and, he was an intellectual prowess behind EPRDF’s developmental state model, and the subsequent gains in the national economy.
He was in his early 80s when he passed.
Gov’t to Launch Housing Projects Through Public-Private Partnership
If approved by the Ministry of Finance, private companies can partner with the government to develop real estate under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
For the scheme, the Ministry of Urban Development & Construction has submitted a pre-feasibility study to the Public-Private Partnership office under the Ministry of Finance in early January for deliberation. The study was conducted by the Construction Ministry over a period of 18 months along with the Addis Abeba City Administration after the duo got a green light from the Ministry of Finance.
The two authorities formed a committee to conduct the study, dubbed the Affordable Housing Development in Addis Abeba. The committees assessment was concluded last October. During the study, the team examined case studies from South Korea and India.
The study recommends the Design-Build-Transfer Model, which involves a private developer that is responsible and accountable for the construction and transfer of the houses.
The study proposed the construction of 79,800 housing units on 100ha of land, designed to benefit nearly 400,000 low and middle-income families in the capital. Out of the total land parcel, 40pc of it will be used for the construction of the houses, while infrastructure development and open space will share the remaining equally.
This housing development project will be designed around 18-storey high rise buildings with two basement levels. The buildings will have water, sewerage, and electrical systems, and will be include common areas.
According to the proposal, the construction of the houses is expected to take a year and a half, while the total project is expected to take 11 years. After the project’s completion, the government will fully take over the project.
The chosen model is in response to the chronic housing problem in the capital, according to Tadesse Kebebew, director of the Housing Development & Administration Bureau at Ministry.
“Housing problems led to a backlog of about a million people,” said Tadesse. “In order to alleviate this, the Ministry has been working on pragmatic options to solve the issue.”
In the last 15 years, the government has been using different mechanisms to alleviate the housing problem in the capital including the Integrated Housing Development Program, a state-led programme that provides housing for low and middle-income people.
“But it can’t solve the housing issues alone,” Tadesse said.
Conceived of three years ago, housing development through PPP arrangements involves different stakeholders, including financial institutions, contractors, and real estate developers, who deliberated on the concept since the end of August 2018.
“Under this model, risks and benefits are relatively distributed fairly among the private partners, the government and the end beneficiaries,” said Tadesse.
Once approved and launched the private developers will partner with the Addis Abeba Housing Development & Administration Bureau. The Construction Ministry will consult on the project and assist the city administration of Addis Abeba. The Ministry of Finance will handle the procurement process after the agreement is finalized.
Currently, out of the estimated four million people living of the capital, close of 835,000 have registered for condominiums since 2005. However, only about 176,000 residents have received housing so far. The city administration has embarked on the construction of condominiums in Gerji, Bole District.
Currently, the capital has 3,343 condominium blocks, with 94,114 housing units, which are under construction. The city administration spends close to 10 billion Br every year on housing projects.
There is no doubt that this is a long-overdue decision from the government, according to Berhanu Zeleke (PhD), a lecturer at the School of Urban Development Studies at Kotebe Metropolitan University.
“The government should leave the work to private companies,” he said, “this is one of the best ways to solve a housing problem in developing countries.”
Entity Crops Up to Administer Land
A group of experts are expected to table a proposal to higher officials of the Ministry of Agriculture for the formation of an autonomous body that will administer lands.
Known as the Land Administration Organisation, the office will be tasked with administering both rural and urban land. It will also have the responsibility of deciding landholding rights, assessing the size and value of land, presiding over tax issues, and determining land usage and permitting.
The proposal is part of the ongoing agricultural reform efforts, included in the draft of the Agricultural Sector 10-year Strategy plan. Written by a group of experts, the document is expected to be tabled to the cabinet of the Ministry on February 24, 2020, for approval.
Once established, the Organisation will be mandated with restructuring policy, laying out legal frameworks and digitizing information according to available deeds. It will also outline the prioritized land use for development purposes and assign bodies within the administration to govern the land usages.
Different departments within the Organisation will be formed to oversee the land used for agricultural, urban, industrial, religious, and reforestation purposes.
According to the draft proposal, the formation of the Organisation is aimed at addressing the administration problems associated with land use.
There is a need for an organisation that will administer both rural and urban land use based on knowledge and organised data, says Anteneh Girma (PhD), senior policy adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture.
“The new entity will work on making the sector have a sustainable contribution to the economy without competing with other sectors such as real estate and hotel,” he said during a meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister three weeks ago.
Because of beauracratic bottlenecks, prime farmlands availed for other purposes have been lying fallow, their value wasted, says Tigistu Gebermeskel, director of rural land administration at the Ministry.
“Every sector has its own plan for using land without considering the other sectors,” said Tigistu, “this leads to competition for land resulting in conflicts and improper use of land.”
In a 20Km radius from the five gates of the capital, the expansion of construction over agriculture has increased by 384pc from 1979 to 2003. At the same time, currently, 21pc of the land in the country is involved in some kind of conflict.
An assessment that was conducted seven years ago shows that the average farmland holding does not exceed 0.8ha.
The new organisation aimed at reducing the land conflicts from the current 21pc to 15pc through the coming 10 years.
“It’s essential to have an integrated land-use plan with the consultation of all sectors,” said Tigistu.
One of the other challenges is the lack of human resource capital that has adequate knowledge of land management, indicates the document.
Most people in positions of authority have studied agriculture or a similar field rather than land management. Thus, the new entity will be equipped with experts that have a deep understanding of land administration, says Tigistu.
Countries like Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Vietnam and South Korea have an institution that administers rural and urban land to consolidate all the challenges.
In the drafting process experts from the Ministry travelled to South Korea and Vietnam to learn from the experiences of the countries five years ago.
Muradu Srur (PhD), an assistant professor specialising in land law at Addis Abeba University School of Law & Governance, says that the organisation could only be successful if it fulfills the required prerequisites.
Integrating itself with the regional administrations, building its human resource capacity and equipping itself with technology are among the perquisites, the Organisation must fulfill, according to the expert.
“It’s very important to take note that land can’t be controlled by one institution only,” he adds, “the Agency can act as a lead to consolidate the fragmented issues of land, but the inherent nature of the agency is basic to guide the land use and administration.”
America’s African Dream
Mike Pompeo, secretary of state of the United States, was casual, affable and positive discussing Africa’s prospects in his meeting with Vera Songwe (PhD), executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), on February 19, 2020. Capping a three-nation visit to Africa, including Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia, Pompeo hailed private sector investments that will ensure further economic development and warned against “authoritarian regimes with empty promises” in a speech he gave at the ECA headquarters.
In a visit largely seen as part of the United States’ effort to counterbalance China’s economic influence in Africa, whose combined trade with the continent’s countries tops 200 billion dollars, around five times as high compared with the North American country, the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief insisted that economic liberalisation is the way forward for Africa. “Socialist schemes haven’t economically liberated this continent’s poorest people,” he said, adding that Asian Tigers developed at the speed that they did because they liberalised their trade policies.
This position runs contrary to the continent’s history with trade liberalisation. In the 1980s and 1990s, African countries followed the advice of international financial institutions, opened their borders to trade, and were rewarded with negative short- and medium-term outcomes. Average gross domestic product (GDP) of sub -Saharan Africa fell within two dacades from over four percent to just above one percent by the early ‘90s. Ethiopia was one of the few to resist wide-ranging economic liberalisation.
In the United States’ big push to strengthen its economic relationship with Africa along the lines of free-market capitalism, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was recently established by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Department is aimed at mobilising private capital to invest in projects in emerging markets. There is also Prosper Africa, an initiative to expand private sector activity between the United States and Africa by making trade and investment support services of the former more accessible. “True economic liberation delivered the greatest economic growth in human history in the United States of America. It can do the same for you,” he said before he finished his speech for a question and answer session with Songwe, which was closed to the audience that included bank and government officials, business owners, media and highschool students.
Anniversary of Armed Struggle Boosts Meqelle Economy
On Tuesday, February 18th, the eve of the 45th anniversary of the Tigrai struggle against the Dergue regime, Meqelle, the capital of Tigray Regional State, was hot.
The city was decorated with national and regional flags. Celebrants traveled from across the region to join in the festivities. And many people wore traditional clothes in honor of the anniversary.
The Regional State celebrated the festival with over a week of events, including showcases of its military strength and development projects.
Among the festival participants was Abdu Husen, who is in his early 30s and working in the town of Hewan, some 60Km away from Meqelle.
He arrived on the eve of the festival but found it very difficult to find a room to stay in for three nights. His attempt to find a room in a guesthouse failed twice.
The city was vibrant throughout the week as visitors arrived in anticipation of the festival. Local businesses, especially hotels and bars, benefited from the arrival of these new customers.
Northern Star Hotel, located near Adi Housi Traffic Light, enjoyed an increase in business because of the anniversary event. The Hotel, which started service three years ago, recently rebranded itself and now has a total of 155 employees.
After noticing the demand from previous events, the Hotel built an additional 36 rooms (for a total of 84) to respond to the demand.
Customers started booking hotel rooms a month ago. Two weeks before the holiday, all of the hotel rooms were booked at least a week in advance. Visitors like Abdu, who tried to book their rooms during the event, were far too late
The Hotel classified the rooms as semi-suite, king, twin, queen and simple standard settings. The maximum price for a room was 1,950 Br, while the minimum price was 1,250 Br. The price of each room increases by 500 Br around the time of the festival.
“If we had more rooms,” said Azeb Asayehgn, marketing manager of the Hotel, “they would have been fully booked.”
Usually, the business of hotels is relatively slow. But during special events and carnivals, the number of customers increases, according to Azeb.
“We have a lot of customers who turned back after we told them the rooms were fully booked,” she adds.
The number of customers in the Hotel has increased by 50pc, and the employees are working overtime to accommodate the demand.
During other festivals and holidays, such as the Diaspora Festival, Graduation and Ashenda, a cultural celebration in Tigray and Amhara regional states, hotels in the city are fully booked.
These celebrations have important economic benefits, motivating businesses to respond to the demand. They increase the income of businesses in the city and inject money into the local economy.
Northern Star Hotel generates up to three million Birr from different services in a given month. But, according to the marketing manager, revenue increases 20pc to 30pc during the festival.
Equar Kahsay, an expert in media capacity building at Tigray Communications Bureau, agrees with Azeb in that the festival stimulates the business activity of the city.
“The guests are willing to spend money on food, rooms and recreation, but the hotels do not have enough capacity to serve the requests,” Equar said.
The festival attracted 150,000 people to Meqelle, most of whom stay four to seven days. On average, a visitor spends 400 Br daily. If, taking the minimum, he stays four days the festival generates close to 240 million Br for the city in total.
Meqelle has 208 hotels with an average of 100 rooms, out of which eight are star rated. In this fiscal year, new five-star hotels began service.
The Tigray Culture & Tourism Bureau believes that the city’s hotels cannot handle the demand of the guests during festival seasons. In the coming years, six additional hotels with more than 150 rooms each will join the market.
“We believe that currently, the existing hotels cannot accommodate the flood of guests that flow into the city during festivals, so we are working aggressively to increase the number and standard of the hotels,” said Yeman Gedelu, accreditation & regulatory director of the Bureau.
He says the region also provides land for investors by giving priority to those who build four and five-star hotels.
During the last fiscal year, 91,349 international tourists visited the region and generated 175.4 million dollars. In the first five months of the current fiscal year, 45,501 foreign tourists have visited the region and generated 62.8 million dollars.
Bars are also booming in the city. Zeselase Pub is one of the bars located in the middle of town around Kebele 16, a popular destination for festival visitors.
Even though the price of beer has increased from 17 Br to 25 Br and draft beer showed a five Birr increase since last week, the bar was as crowded as ever.
Mearg Aderm, an owner of Zeselasse bar, said he feared that the customer flow would decline due to the price increase. Instead, business increased.
“The count is increasing with 20 to 40 new customers each day,” he said.
On Wednesday, the day of the festival, he sold close to 12 crates of beer before lunchtime. Normally, this is the amount he would sell over the course of an entire weekend. Thanks to the festival, his income has increased by 40,000 Br that day.
Helen Hailu, the owner of Helen bar, located near Desta Hotel behind Meqelle University, Adihaqi campus, has also seen growth in the number of customers who come to her bar because of the festival.
Helen, who sells beer, wine, whiskey and vodka, started the business five years ago by renting a house for 8,000 Br a month.
“The flow of customers has increased, especially since last week,” Helen said. “I see at least 40 to 50 new customers a day.”
During the festival seasons, Helen’s income increases at least 3,000 Br a day.
“It’s a time for us to do good business,” she adds.
Tekelab Habetu, in his early 30s, is a tailor who received more business from the celebration. Tekelab, who has been in the business for three years, buys clothes such as trousers, shirts and coats from Almeda Textile Plc, a plant which is located seven kilometres from Adewa town. He applies different designs to them and sells them to the market.
He began sewing designs on clothes two months before the Yekatit 11 celebration. He sells t-shirts for 200 Br, coats and jackets for 1,000 Br, and trousers for 500 Br. On average, he sells up to 40 clothing items of each type per day making up to 68,000 Br a day.
He hired four people who sell clothes while he is focused on his designing work.
“I’m occupied with putting the patterns on the clothes; hence I need additional staff to assist me,” he said. “I like this business, and I plan to get prepared well for the next holidays like Ashenda, and the other festivals.”
The region’s investment flow has increased in the last two years, according to data from the Tigray Investment & Export Commission. Two years ago, the Regional State attracted 27 billion Br in investments. Last year, that figure grew to 47 billion Br.
In the first five months of this fiscal year, 17 billion Br was registered in the capital by investors who have received licenses. Out of this, 56pc are in the industry sector, while 18pc work in the construction sector.
Nowadays, the region’s investment flow is highly increasing. The main reason for this is the peace and stability of the region, says Alem Berhan, a senior expert of monitoring & evaluation of investment project at the Tigray Investment & Export Commission.
Last week the city inaugurated infrastructure projects worth four billion Birr, including roads built throughout the region. It also placed foundation stones for hospitals, schools and other infrastructure projects worth 1.3 billion Br in celebration of the holiday.
Abdu, who took part in this festival, has learned his lesson for next year.
“Next time I will book a room earlier,” he says.
Even though it is a booming seasonal business, the festival will help the city to motivate the economic activity, and a large amount of money will be injected into the economy, says Atlaw Alemu (PhD), a lecturer at Addis Abeba University’s Faculty of Business & Economics. But he says these gains are short-lived, since many of the participants will return to their homes.
For sustainable growth and benefit, Atlaw recommends the Regional State support the local economy consistently by focusing on the manufacturing sector.
“The local economy should be integrated with the manufacturing sector to get more benefits,” he adds.
Hidasie Telecom Founds Microfinance Institution
A local telecom products and services distributor has jumped into the financial industry by establishing the 39th microfinance institution in the nation, which is expected to start operations this month.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) granted the operational license to the Grand Micro Finance Institute three months ago. Initiated by Hidasie Telecom, the establishment process of the firm has been three years in the making.
The company started selling shares two years ago and has mobilised 12 million Br in paid-up capital, which is more than the 10 million Br minimum required by the central bank to establish a microfinance institution.
Currently, the Grand Micro Finance Institute has 367 shareholders, and Hidasie, which was established with an initial capital of 200,000 Br and 2,508 shareholders, holds 90pc of the shares. The minimum amount of shares a shareholder could buy was 50 shares with a par value of 100 Br.
Hidase, which is involved in the distribution of mobile prepaid cards, SIM cards, bill collection, sales of mobile phones and accessories and vehicle maintenance, currently has 4,500 employees and declared 497 million Br in revenues and 52 million Br in net profits last year.
The microfinance institution was established to provide financial support for companies, especially to those that supply solar products to farmers, according to Tekolla Demssie, board chairperson of the company.
The formation process took more time than expected due to the departure of the employees who crafted the business plan and the negotiations with the central bank to finalise it, according to Tekolla.
When it commences operations, the company will join the 38 microfinance institutions already operating in the country. In the last fiscal year, these companies’ total capital and assets increased by 20.3pc and 24.1pc and reached 16.6 billion Br and 83.5 billion Br, respectively.
Compared to the preceding year, their deposits surged by 26.1pc and reached 41.9 billion Br, while their outstanding credit went up by 30.5pc to 58.7 billion Br.
The five largest microfinance institutions in the country – Amhara, Dedebit, Oromia, Omo and Addis Credit & Savings – accounted for 83.4pc of the total capital and 91.4pc of the savings. For the past two years they have also accounted for 87.7pc of the credit and 88.1pc of the total assets of microfinance institutions.
Habib Mohammed, an expert in the financial sector, applauds the formation of the new institution.
“The institution will be profitable,” said Habib. “But might be challenged in giving loans since it has limited resources.”
He recommends the board of directors avail more shares to boost its capital, allowing them to award sufficient loans.
The founders of the Grand Micro Finance Institute have a plan to sell additional shares soon to raise capital, according to Tekolla.
Currently, Hidasie is training its seven employees, who will be operating the financial institute.
“One of our main challenges is the continuous increase in salaries in the financial industry,” Tekolla said.
To address this problem, Habib recommends that the management of the company constantly train fresh graduates to minimise their salary expenses.
New Bill Introduces Tourism Fund
Tourism Ethiopia drafted a new regulation that will enable the tourism industry to generate and administer its own finances.
The draft regulation, which is expected to be tabled to the Council of Ministers within a month, will establish a Tourism Fund that will mobilize funds from the government, the private sector, and donors.
The bill follows a proclamation that was legislated by the parliament last year. International Finance Corporation (IFC), the government of the Netherlands, the Office of the General Attorney, and the Addis Abeba Hotel Owners Association have participated in the drafting process with Tourism Ethiopia.
The bill, which was tabled for stakeholder discussion two weeks ago, has not yet been sent to the Attorney General’s office for review. It was drafted taking the experiences of South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand and Kenya into consideration.
The industry cannot be transformed with the government’s budget only, according to Seleshi Girma, CEO of Tourism Ethiopia, which changed its name last year.
Established seven years ago as the Ethiopian Tourism Organization under the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the office is a budgetary institution. It now reports directly to the Office of the Prime Minister.
It is tasked with promoting the country’s tourism resources and attractions domestically and abroad by organizing tourism marketing initiatives for the various stakeholders. It is in charge of ensuring that the country’s tourist attractions are identified, properly developed and organized.
It will also set-up, coordinate and direct gateways to the country’s tourism attractions, facilities and information centres, which all require finances.
“Due to a shortage of budget, it was not possible to promote Ethiopia internationally,” he said, “The fund which is going to be collected will elevate the country’s tourism status.”
For the collection of the Fund, Tourism Ethiopia has forwarded a request to Ethiopian Airlines to promote the Fund to its customers.
“The easiest way to collect resources for the Fund was through Ethiopian Airlines since tourists can afford to contribute a minimum of a dollar when they buy tickets,” Seleshi, said.
However, the proposal was not approved by the airline, according to Seleshi.
“We didn’t receive yes or no letter from Ethiopian Airlines,” said Seleshi, “we’ll have further discussion with the airline and we will know the final decision within weeks.”
Yared Mulugeta, a board member of the Ethiopian Tour Operators Association, recommends that Tourism Ethiopia not impose a higher price on tourists, which might discourage them from coming to the country.
“If the fund is collected through a partnership scheme,” said Yared, “the Ministry of Revenues should understand that it is not an income of the institution that collected the fund.”
Last year the Agency for Research & Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) had drafted a proclamation to establish a trust fund for the conservation of heritage sites. The bill is still in the making and is now being discussed with stakeholders.
“Since tourism and heritage are two sides of a coin,” said Hailu Zeleke, cultural heritage conservation director at the Agency, “we’ll propose the two to be collected together.”
Henok Seyume, an expert and travel journalist with 15 years of experience, says that the issue was raised long ago but nothing has been achieved until now.
“If Tourism Ethiopia is able to collect and administer the fund,” said Henok, “it would be useful for destination and promotion development.”
Tadesse Lencho (PhD), an assistant professor at Addis Abeba University’s School of Law & Governance believes that if any kind of fund is collected from tourists, it should be in the form of a proper tourism tax.
The office should be clear which visitors the fund will be collected from, since many people come to the country for business, education or as members of the Diaspora, according to Tadesse.
“There is no tourism tax, so the government should set the tax in,” Tadesse adds. “Or should either allocate enough budget to the sector.”
Agency to Launch Fake Credentials Detection System
The government is set to launch an electronic information system that details the performance of higher education institutions and the academic background of students.
Known as the Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS), the web-based platform provides information about graduates and higher education institutions for government and private institutions. The system can also identify those who do not have valid academic credentials.
Developed by a team of 16 experts from the Technology & Innovation Institute over the past 10 months, the system will be managed by the Higher Education Relevance & Quality Agency. Established in 2003, the agency is in charge of regulatory activities including accreditation and re-accreditation of programmes in higher education institutions.
Reaching its completion stage, the system will provide its manual services in a digital format. The Agency will be tasked with providing accreditation and re-accreditation services and regulating campus expansions, programme expansions and student enrollment size.
After the system becomes operational, the Agency, which recently banned 22 campuses for not having legal business licenses, will pilot the programme by responding to the institution’s requests.
The academic credentials of the past 22 years will be available on the database and provide information on the legality of documents, according to Andualem Admassie (PhD), director-general of the Agency.
The system will open only to higher education institutions in a week and will be open to the public within a year.
“After we discuss the measures that will be taken against individuals without real credentials with the government,” said Andualem, “we’ll make it available for the general public.”
Dawit Asrat (PhD), a lecturer at Bahir Dar University’s College of Education & Behavioural Sciences, says the system will play a significant role in reducing the prevalence of fake documents.
“But, it’s too late,” he said. “The Agency should open the system soon after making a decision on the fate of the people with false credentials.”
The President of Debre Tabor University, Anegagregn Gashaw, says that digitising the system will help institutions of higher education exchange the latest information.
“But disclosing the system to the public might cause a problem,” he said. “It should be an urgent matter for the government to take prompt action to give the public access to the system as soon as possible, though it should be careful and consult with all the concerned parties before going public.”
After the system becomes operational, the Agency will give the institutions a username and password to access the system after each school has fulfilled the required criteria, demonstrating that they are legally licensed and have hired qualified academic staff.
Both public and private higher education institutions can report data to the Agency through the system. They can access services by logging into the system and printing out the necessary forms. If there is any payment required, they will be able to make the payments through the banks to the agency’s account.
The system will save time and effort. Anyone can search for the details of an institution before choosing where they want to study, according to Salman Mohammed, director for information systems and infrastructure division at the Technology & Innovation Institute.
Besides providing information to the institutions, the system will help government officials easily access data on higher education institutions and their operations.
The country has 50 public universities, and there were 873,000 students studying for their first degrees during the last academic year. There are also 38 teacher education colleges throughout the country that provide a three-year diploma in teaching through regular, summer and extension programmes.
For this fiscal year, the country allocated 50.6 billion Br, 13pc of its total budget, for education.
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