Radar | Apr 10,2021
The almost two-decade-old Meqelle University finalised construction of its seventh campus. Opening its doors 10 days ago, the Meles Zenawi Institute of Science & Technology Campus cost 1.6 billion Br.
The new campus has two dormitory complexes, 200 classrooms, two cafeterias, one central library, one health centre, two engineering laboratories and seven engineering workshop halls. The campus will also have parking spaces.
The University’s Institute of Science & Technology was formerly located in Aynalem Campus. The facilities at this campus were considered inadequate by the University.
“There should now be a complete laboratory for the industrial and civil engineering departments, especially in terms of digital libraries,” said Atakilty Haileselasie, corporate communications director of the University. "This campus is completely dedicated to science and technology streams, unlike any other campuses of the university."
The new campus, located in the town of Quiha in the Tigray Regional State, near Meqelle Airport, aka Alulua Aba Nega Airport, started its work 10 days ago by receiving a batch of 6,000 fresh students.
Construction on the campus started in 2012, the same year Meles Zenawi, of whom the campus bears its name, passed away while undergoing treatment in Belgium.
Eight contractors participated in the construction, while four consultants lent their oversight. Finishing work is expected to be finalised in three months, after which the campus will be inaugrated.
“The new campus has huge workshop halls and laboratories, considering the importance of such facilities for industrial and civil engineering departments,” said Atakilty. “Digital libraries are also mandatory to the teaching-learning process.”
Meqelle University has graduated around 90,000 students since its establishment. There are seven colleges with 43 departments, nine institutes and 10 schools.
There are currently over 31,000 students attending in regular and extension undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The University also has 12,000 staff, a sixth of which are teachers, and plans to introduce a community radio broadcasting service on November 16, 2019.
Meqelle University is not the only one undertaking expansion. Bahir Dar University, with 52,850 students, recently completed the construction of its educational facility expansion for 430 million Br. The facilities included a four-story office and educational building, another four-storey library and a cafeteria. Wollo University, which has 28,000 students, has also begun the construction of two more campuses for an estimated cost of 382 million Br.
Ethiopia has one of the highest spending for the education sector in Africa. This year, 50.6 billion Br has been allocated to the sector that has 50 public universities. There were 873,000 students studying for their first degrees in the past academic year, an amount that is estimated to keep increasing considering that 42pc of Ethiopia’s population is made up of under 15-year-olds.
Tamiru Delelegn, a lecturer at Bahir Dar University College of Educational & Behavioral Science, remarked that learning by doing has a great impact on the minds of students.
“In building such kinds of hi-tech institutions and laboratories, the University has to think about enhancing the capacity of the instructors and lab technicians in utilising these properties,” he said. “It would also be beneficial to the students if the University considered allowing them to give service in their fields inside the campus's workshops and laboratories."
PUBLISHED ON
Nov 09,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1019]
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