Agenda | Nov 07,2020
A fraction of the 1,000 Menelik II Preparatory School students stood outside the gates of their exam centres in the early hours of the day last week. Pencils and blank papers were at the ready. Security was tight, and instant messaging apps were restricted to safeguard against exam cheating. Preparations were tensely anticipated for half a year, as the national matriculation exams are necessary to enter public or private accredited universities in the country.
Students would generally worry whether they would pass the exams. But, these are not regular times owing to public health risks due to COVID-19 and the civil war. The administration of the exams was not taken for granted. Close to 618,000 students had been registered for the exams this year, double last year's figure. The scrapping of national exams for 10th-grade students meant that more students passed to the subsequent grades. Hence, they sat for college entrance exams. Yet close to 131 examination centres were closed due to the raging war in the Amhara and Afar regional states. No students were registered in the Tigray Regional State.
The security situation determines what will happen to students who pass the national matriculation exams. Several universities in the north have already been closed, including Meqelle, Axum, Adigrat, Raya, Woldiya and Wello universities. How long other universities in close proximity to the fighting will remain open is the subject of discussion. Few students would also be willing to venture too far from their homes for education. Many uncertainties cloud the situation in Ethiopia, but, inevitably, years, perhaps decades, of learning outcomes have already been reversed.
You can read the full story here
PUBLISHED ON
Nov 13,2021 [ VOL
22 , NO
1124]
Agenda | Nov 07,2020
Fortune News | Jul 11,2021
Fortune News | Mar 18,2023
Fortune News | Jun 11,2022
Fineline | Feb 23,2019
Viewpoints | Dec 07,2019
Fortune News | Nov 24,2024
Commentaries | Jul 23,2022
Viewpoints | Mar 12,2022
Editorial | Nov 23,2024
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Jan 25 , 2025
Grand ambitions have long driven Ethiopia's successive leaders, but they remain weigh...
Jan 18 , 2025
Adanech Abebie, the mayor of Addis Abeba, addressed last week a warm-up session for h...
A severe cash shortage squeezes the economy, and the deposit-to-loan ratio has slumpe...
Jan 4 , 2025
Time seldom passes without prompting reflection, and the dawn of 2025 should nudge Et...