The cracks in Ethiopia's higher education system were laid bare during a synthesis report presented at the Academy of Science last week. The study, led by Belay Hagos (PhD), director of the Institute of Educational Research with three decades of experience, revealed severe quality crises and structural issues that have persisted for decades, impacting the effectiveness and credibility of the country's universities. The report examined the core problems, the consequences for graduates and the labour market, and potential reforms to improve the system, observing 30 years of data.

The 70-30 policy, which channels students into natural and social science streams based on labour market priorities, stands out as a major flaw, according to Belay. He criticises this policy for its lack of alignment with actual market dynamics, student capabilities, and university capacities. Implemented without sufficient research, he believes it has led to high unemployment rates among graduates, particularly engineers.

"There are many unemployed engineers because of that decision," Belay said, stressing the disconnect between educational output and labour market demand.

University enrollment has surged from 60,000 nearly two decades ago to 600,000 last year. However, Belay noted the quantitative measure came without a corresponding improvement in educational quality. Graduates often lack essential skills, such as language competence, analytical abilities, and subject matter retention. He believes the skills gap is exacerbated by a severe shortage of qualified educators, with only 11pc of the nearly 49,000 university teachers holding doctorates, and just 298 achieving the status of professor.

The study attributes the proliferation of under-resourced institutions that cannot provide a robust educational experience to the indiscriminate labelling of institutions as universities, without ensuring they meet necessary standards.

Belay also presented issues within postgraduate education, ranging from flawed student selection processes to unspecific curricula. He said many universities use identical curricula without adapting to regional needs, which undermines the quality of education.

"This has endangered quality," he said, emphasising the need for tailored academic programs that address local demands and industry requirements.

The study found that only 716 of the nearly 10,000 students who tested for university assistant lecturer positions obtained passing grades seven years ago during a national project to build 11 new universities. This low pass rate points to faulty evaluation schemes and the need for rigorous selection and training of educators.