EXPANSION VS. QUALITY: EMERGING ISSUES OF FOR-PROFIT

PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN ETHIOPIA

DANIEL S. ALEMU

Abstract – Private for-profit higher education has been rapidly expanding in developingcountries worldwide since the early 1990s. This global trend has been particularly evidentin Ethiopia, where only three public universities existed until 1996. By 2005, about 60private for-profit higher education institutions had been founded in Ethiopia. This has ledto mixed feelings among the Ethiopian public. While some laud the opportunities andadvantages these new institutions bring, others are apprehensive that the quality ofeducation might be compromised by an expansion motivated by monetary gain. Thisarticle sheds light on these paradoxes and provides suggestions for policy and practices.

Resume – EXPANSION VS QUALITE : LES QUESTIONS POSEES PAR LESETABLISSEMENTS A BUT LUCRATIF D’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR ENETHIOPIE – L’enseignement superieur prive a but lucratif s’est developpe rapidementdans les pays en developpement du monde entier depuis le debut des annees 1990. Cettetendance mondiale s’est particulierement verifiee en Ethiopie, qui ne possedait que troisuniversites publiques jusqu’en 1996. En 2005, une soixantaine d’etablissements prives abut lucratif de l’enseignement superieur avait vu le jour en Ethiopie. Cette evolutionsuscite des sentiments mitiges parmi la population du pays. Certains soulignent les per-spectives d’avenir et les avantages qu’apportent ces institutions, d’autres craignent que laqualite de l’enseignement souffre d’une expansion motivee par le gain financier. L’auteurmet en lumiere ces paradoxes et emet des propositions pour les politiques et les pratiques.

Zusammenfassung – EXPANSION VERSUS QUALITAT: DIE PROBLEMATIKPROFITORIENTIERTER EINRICHTUNGEN DER HOHEREN BILDUNG INATHIOPIEN – Die private, profitorientierte hohere Bildung ist seit Anfang der 1990er-Jahre in Entwicklungslandern uberall auf der Welt auf dem Vormarsch. Dieser globaleTrend fallt insbesondere in Athiopien auf, wo es bis 1996 nur drei staatliche Universi-taten gab. Bis 2005 wurden in Athiopien ungefahr 60 private, profitorientierte Ein-richtungen der hoheren Bildung gegrundet. Dies hat in der athiopischen Offentlichkeitgemischte Gefuhle hervorgerufen. Wahrend manche die Moglichkeiten und Vorteileloben, die diese neuen Einrichtungen mit sich bringen, befurchten andere, dass dieBildungsqualitat unter deren profitorientierten Expansionsbestrebungen leiden konnte.In diesem Artikel werden diese inneren Widerspruche beleuchtet und Vorschlage furpolitische und praktische Maßnahmen unterbreitet.

Resumen – EXPANSION VERSUS CALIDAD: CUESTIONES QUE SUSCITA LACOMERCIALIZACION DE LA EDUCACION SUPERIORr EN ETIOPIA – Desdeel comienzo de los anos noventa, la educacion privada y comercializada se ha expandidorapidamente en los paıses de desarrollo en todo el mundo. Esta tendencia mundial esparticularmente evidente en Etiopıa, donde hasta el ano 1996 solamente existıan tresuniversidades publicas; en 2005, ya se habıan fundado en Etiopıa 60 instituciones de

International Review of Education (2010) 56:51–61 � Springer 2010DOI 10.1007/s11159-009-9150-3

educacion superior privadas y con caracter lucrativo. Este desarrollo ha provocadosentimientos encontrados entre el publico etıope: una parte de la poblacion alaba lasoportunidades y ventajas que traen estas nuevas instituciones, mientras que la otra temeque una expansion motivada por el animo de lucro podrıa ir en desmedro de la calidadde la ensenanza. Con este artıculo, el autor analiza esta situacion paradogica y ofrecesugerencias polıticas y practicas.

Background: higher education in Ethiopia

Throughout its short history, higher education in Ethiopia has experiencednumerous challenges, the obvious ones being its inability to produce suffi-cient manpower to meet the country’s needs, the unresponsiveness of theprogrammes and the curriculum to the practical needs of the country, theextremely conservative orientation of the institutions, a lack of genuine com-mitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, and scarcity ofresources. These issues, directly or indirectly, impact the quality of educationthe institutions offer and/or public access to higher education. After almostsix decades, Ethiopia’s higher education ‘‘remains highly underdeveloped’’and ‘‘access is still very low and the quality and relevance of the educa-tion and research activities of the institutions are not up to expected stand-ards and levels’’ (Yizengaw 2005; 1).

Recent developments

Following the break-up of the USSR, the introduction of a free market econ-omy has been a phenomenon in many previously socialist countries, includingEthiopia. This trend not only encouraged the private sector to invest in thevarious socio-economic activities including opening private higher educationinstitutions but also demanded specialised skills and larger workforcesthat the – then highly centralised – government tertiary institutions could not

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52 Daniel S. Alemu

produce. This was precipitated by the policy of the new government thatprioritised the issue of higher education reform and expansion on its agenda(Saint 2004).

Prior to 1991, Ethiopia had three, government-owned, degree-offeringhigher education institutions: Addis Ababa University system, Alemaya Uni-versity, and Asmara University (now in Eritrea). The relative expansion ingovernment higher education institutions in recent years has increased theirtotal numbers to 23, including the universities, technical colleges, and teachertraining colleges (Saint 2004). Very recently, the government has announcedits plan to open 13 new universities across the country by 2010 (Teklu 2006).

Private higher education institutions did not exist in Ethiopia until in themid 1990s. Between the years 1996 and 2003 about 37 private institutionswere founded, increasing higher education enrolment by 21% in 2003(World Bank 2003). By 2005, the number of private higher education institu-tions grew to 60, enrolling a quarter of all higher education students in thecountry (Teferra 2005).

This rapid expansion of private higher education institutions in Ethiopia,however, has undergone continuous debate among educators, intellectuals,students, parents and society at large. The debating parties could be broadlycategorised into two: quality advocates and expansion advocates. The qual-ity advocates argue that the quality of higher education has been compro-mised for expansion motivated by a mere monetary profit. The expansionadvocates, on the other hand, amplify the contribution of the institutions interms of access, employment opportunity, and the choices of programmesthat the new institutions offer.

This paper focuses on quality vs. expansion issues regarding the newly-emerging private for-profit higher institutions in Ethiopia through addressingthree basic questions:

• What are the major concerns regarding the rapid expansion of privatehigher education institutions in Ethiopia?

• What mechanism is there to control the quality of education being offeredby higher education institutions?

• What can be done to ensure the quality of education while maintainingthe expansion of higher education?

Finally, the article provides suggestions and draws implications for policythat promotes the expansion of private higher education without compro-mising the quality of education.

What are the major concerns regarding the rapid expansion of privatefor-profit higher education institutions in Ethiopia?

In a country like Ethiopia, where access to higher education is limited toless than one % of the expected age group (MOE 1999) or about 10–15%

53Expansion vs. Quality

of all high school graduates (Wondimu 2003), expansion of private highereducation institutions is to be welcomed. However, it should not be at the ex-pense of quality. The Education and Training Policy of the country clearlystates the need for both expansion and quality when it put the issue of accessas one of its priorities along with relevance, quality and equity (MOE 1994).

The contributions of the newly opened for-profit private institutionsinclude the fact that they:

• opened up opportunities for individuals/high school graduates who mightnot meet the extremely competitive entrance requirements of the publicuniversities and colleges;

• enrolled more than 20% of the country’s total higher education intake(World Bank 2003);

• opened up employment opportunities for professionals and non-professionals;• benefited some public schools by renting their traditionally under-utilised

facilities;• motivated some private real-estate owners to build more facilities for rent;• provided scholarship opportunities for female students from low socio-

economic status (e.g. Unity University College);• offered students an opportunity to choose their course of study (unlike

public higher institutions where the choice of major is dictated by the stu-dent’s cumulative grade point average and availability of places);

• trained individuals for ‘‘the shifting needs of the job market’’ (WorldBank 2003: 11).

Why do quality advocates feel apprehensive about the current expansionof higher education? Various general explanations could be given, such asfear of the unknown, a societal culture of low levels of risk-taking, and alack of trust in the new institutions based on observations and experience.

The quality advocates, in this case, are very critical about rapid expansionfor monetary gains which may lead to greater inequity in the population.Answering the following questions will help to better understand the situa-tion. How rapid is expansion? What factors have contributed to rapidexpansion? What are the downsides of rapid expansion?

How rapid is expansion?

Determining whether the speed of the expansion is rapid or slow depends onthe type of standard we use and the motivation for the expansion itself.Most often, people feel comfortable with what they are used to and tend totake that as a standard for comparing new phenomena. Higher education, inits modern/western sense, began in Ethiopia with the opening of the Emper-or Haileselassie I University in 1950. Between 1950 and the late 1980s thetotal number of universities in the country grew only to three. By any meas-ure, comparing the historical pace of the expansion of higher education inthe country with the current trend of expansion of private colleges and

54 Daniel S. Alemu

universities (the opening of 60 private for-profit institutions between1996 and 2005), one can comfortably say that the latter is very rapid. Gener-ally speaking for-profit private higher education is a sector that is rapidlygrowing in developing countries worldwide (World Bank 2000).

What factors have contributed to rapid expansion? And whatare the downsides?

Several factors have contributed to the rapid expansion of for-profit privatehigher education in Ethiopia. Primarily mentioned are the education andeconomic policy of the country, the change in demography (demand), andthe lucrative return from such investments. The debate is, however, centredon the last factor – the focus on monetary return.

It is obvious that private, for-profit colleges or universities cannot survivelet alone expand if they do not generate monetary return. Their existence isbased on profit and they should not be blamed for profiting from it. Theperil comes with the following conditions:

When excessive focus is on profit

One could simply apply rudimentary economics to claim that profit is thetotal sale minus the total investment. One way of boosting profit is minimisingthe cost of investment without reducing the price of the product. In the case ofmost Ethiopian private for-profit higher education institutions, excessive prof-it motivation has been the accusation made by quality advocates. Excessivefocus on profit can be manifested through various exercises. One of thesecould be undue enrolment increment. This happens when private for-profitinstitutions expand beyond their capacity. Such a measure often results inlarge class size, shortages of qualified instructors, and an inability to providestandard educational inputs all of which determine the quality of the outputs.

The second manifestation of excessive profit orientation is an unduly fastrise in tuition and fees. This entails an ethical perspective on investing ineducation. What is and what is not reasonable is determined by the clients’ability to pay and the quality of services offered by the institution. Increas-ing tuition fees paid by students while lowering the quality of instructionmight be a typical example of unethical practice.

The third issue is quality of entrants. Private higher education institutionsin Ethiopia, in most cases, are not the first choice of students with higherGrade Point Averages. Private institutions often take students who are notadmitted to government universities and colleges. When private institutionsfocus merely on money, there is a tendency for them to accept those whocan afford to pay while compromising entrance requirements. This takes usto the fourth characteristic of excessive profit motivation, which is the ques-tion of retention and attrition. High retention and low attrition rates indi-cate the success of the process of teaching and learning, everything else being

55Expansion vs. Quality

equal. However, when retention is very close to 100% and when attrition isalmost zero %, it is worth investigating the how and the why. It is too naıveto believe that all private college students (who have been admitted with lowergrades) successfully complete their studies. Thus, if students are retained with-out progressing in their studies one can reasonably hypothesise that financialpriorities have prevailed. The truth of the matter is, if a student lingers severalyears without completing a programme and has been admitted without restric-tions, he/she is paying in vain. Only institutions that emphasise financial gainsrecruit such students. Besides such an unethical approach, their statistics, withostentatious retention and attrition rates, can only mislead gullible readers.

When they create imbalance in accessibility

Most private institutions in Ethiopia are concentrated in the capital, AddisAbaba, and a few other large cities. The annual tuition fees they charge varyfrom $300 to $400 (World Bank 2003). Government universities charge sig-nificantly less than this amount. For a country like Ethiopia, where 85% ofthe population is rural and where the per capita income is seldom over $100,the current trend of city-centred expansion of private higher education insti-tutions coupled with their non-affordability would leave the rural majoritydisadvantaged and thereby widen the existing gap of accessibility betweenthe rural and urban populations.

When quality is compromised because of under-financing

Accurately measuring the quality of education is not an easy endeavour;there are no perfect yardsticks. However, money and quality of educationare positively correlated, everything else being equal. Hedges and Greenwald(1996) and Hedges et al. (1994) argue that money buys smaller classrooms,more qualified teachers, and better quality educational inputs. These requireconsiderable investment. When investors pursue expansion before they areable to provide basic educational necessities for their existing clients, qualityis compromised.

What mechanism is there to control the quality of education offered by highereducation institutions?

The cry for quality education in Ethiopia has been echoed for many decadesby concerned individuals and institutions in and out of the country. The pre-vious communist government focused on mass education and gave utmostattention to expansion of primary and secondary education together withmandatory adult literacy campaigns. Much focus has been given by the cur-rent government to the expansion of higher education. Government universi-ties have been expanding and accepting more and more students every year.For example, enrolment in government higher education alone increased

56 Daniel S. Alemu

from 52,305 in the 1998/99 academic year to 87,431 and 147,957 in the 2000/01 and 2002/3 academic years respectively (MOE 2003).

There was not a single private for-profit higher education institution inEthiopia until 1996. By the year 2005 there were 60 private colleges and uni-versities that enrolled about one-fourth of the nation’s higher education stu-dents (Teferra 2005). As the concern regarding the quality of educationoffered by these institutions grew, the Ethiopian government enacted Procla-mation 351/2003 (Higher Education Proclamation) on 3 July, 2003 (FDRE2003).

The proclamation clearly stated that one of the concerns that led the gov-ernment to pass this law was the issue of quality education. Section one ofpart five of the proclamation is fully dedicated to the establishment of theEducation Relevance and Quality Agency (FDRE 2003). This agency is abuffer between higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education.The power and duties of the Agency include gathering and disseminatinginformation about the activities of higher education institutions, ensuring theeducation offered by the institutions are up to standard, and recommendinginstitutions for accreditation (FDRE 2003). Unlike the experience of manyhigher education systems around the globe, the 2003 Higher Education Proc-lamation of Ethiopia provides centralised power to the Ministry of Educa-tion on final accreditation decisions.

What can be done to ensure quality of education while expanding highereducation?

Expansion is not a phenomenon contrary to quality. It is possible to expandhigher education without compromising the quality of education. In shortone should not happen at the expense of the other. Unfortunately, this isnot always the case.

The current expansion of higher education in Ethiopia has been facilitated,among other factors, by new economic and educational policies. Even thoughthe involvement of the private sector in the expansion of higher educationis necessary, education as a public good needs the checks and balances ofgovernment. In addition, meaningful contributions and operations of theprivate sector are dependent on the quality of the legal framework and theenforcement mechanisms in place. However, this should be done with cautionsince excessive government involvement, especially in the activities of highereducation institutions, discourages their healthy functioning (Mwiria 2003).For instance, in a situation where the day-to-day decision-making activities ofinstitutions are micromanaged by the government or any political interestgroups to the extent that institutional autonomy is affected and academic free-dom is infringed it is hardly possible to see a healthy functioning higher edu-cation. Bentley et al. (2006: 14–15) provide a more practical example whenthey state that if a government ‘‘withholds or threatens to withhold fundingfrom an institution, or differentially funds institutions favouring those that

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comply with a preferred agenda, this would undoubtedly curtail academicfreedom’’. Thus, government involvement should be limited to overseeing andsupervising the institutions in order to check that they are meeting the setstandards (World Bank 2000). Furthermore, establishing buffer bodieshas proved to limit excessive government interference in the internal affairs ofuniversities (Mwiria 2003).

To ensure quality, setting standards is a must. In addition to the EducationRelevance and Quality Agency (ERQA), the new higher education proclama-tion has mandated the establishment of the Higher Education Strategy Centre(FDRE 2003), which is an encouraging step from the government’s side. Thetwo buffer bodies are believed to be instrumental in setting workable qualitystandards and ensuring that higher education institutions function accordingto the standards.

Another important factor to ensuring quality is through constructive com-petition. Competition can be positive (constructive) or negative (destructive).Constructive competition may be facilitated through finding niches of excel-lence and embracing responsible college ranking bodies. While finding theniches of excellence demands farsightedness and agility from the leadershipof individual institutions, concerned independent bodies (professional organi-sations, individuals, associations, etc.) may contribute to the emergenceof independent ranking institutions. Since ranking is a very sensitive issue,consideration should be given to prevent ‘‘irresponsible musings by self-appointed experts and money-making schemes by commercial organizations’’(Altbach 2006: 1).

Conclusions and implications

The issue of privatisation in general is a new phenomenon for Ethiopia afterexperiencing communism for 17 years. The tendency that ‘‘whatever isowned by the government is better’’ is still alive and well among the public.On the one hand, this holds true since most of the publicly-owned institu-tions have a relatively long history, a wide range of experience, and a betterresource base. On the other hand, the tendency that longevity assures qualitymight not always hold true.

The role played by the private sector in the expansion of higher educationin Ethiopia is to be commended. Expansion is as important as quality if thecountry has to benefit from its huge human resources. To this effect thereshould be clear commitments and actions from the various stakeholders tosupport the expansion of up-to-standard higher education. Policy-makersshould continue to lay down clear legal frameworks for higher educationinstitutions and strictly enforce and limit them. It is also imperative for pri-vate institutions to gauge their contribution for national development, takinginto account such issues as affordability and the quality of education theyoffer.

58 Daniel S. Alemu

Almost all the present private higher education institutions, in Ethiopia, arefor-profit institutions. Private-for-profit higher education institutions aremotivated by monetary returns. It is unlikely that such institutions will opensites in rural and destitute areas. Hence, even though private-for-profit highereducation institutions play a role in the expansion of higher education, thegovernment should intervene in bridging the access gap that can be createddue to such an inequitable expansion. Possible interventions may includeencouraging the opening of local and international non-profit private higherinstitutions in non-urban and destitute areas by providing such assistances asfree land and tax exemptions (or lower tax brackets).

Generally speaking, ensuring quality higher education largely depends onthe qualities of educational inputs (resources such as fiscal, physical, human,curricular, material/equipment) and throughputs (institutional governancethat entails accountability, setting and implementing clear standards, andeffectiveness). Standardising the qualities of the inputs and throughputs helpsto effectively measure the outputs. The newly-established ERQA and HigherEducation Strategy Centre (HESC) could play important roles in formulat-ing clear and more detailed standards along with appropriate quality indica-tors by taking lessons from best global practice while considering localrealities. This paves the way for the emergence of independent ranking bod-ies. Ranking bodies that have the capacity and professional integrity toserve, without conflicts of interest, can play significant roles in stratifyinginstitutions. Stratification motivates higher education institutions to get intoconstructive competition among each other and eventually in the globalmarket. Constructive competition in turn contributes to quality serviceprovisions.

In addition, to facilitate healthy competition among institutions and toserve the purpose of checking and balancing of the expansion and quality ofhigher education in Ethiopia, there should be an autonomous accreditingagency. The 2003 Ethiopian Higher Education Proclamation states thatERQA is an ‘‘autonomous organ.’’ However, ERQA does not appear tohave any meaningful authority when it comes to accreditation except helpingthe Ministry of Education in formulating quality standards and doing thepre-screening work for accreditation. If given full independence, ERQA, notonly reduces the chain of command but also provides meaningful servicescommensurate to its name.

In the end, in order for the country to enjoy a meaningful return fromits educated workforce, attention should logically be refocused on qualitywhile expanding higher education. Past studies (Hanushek and Kimko 2000;Hanushek 2005; World Bank 2007) concluded that countries with high-qualitygraduates (i.e. who had done more than complete their schooling) enjoy abetter rate of return in social and economic development than those with low-er-quality graduates. Hence, policies and practices pertinent to education ingeneral and higher education in particular should take into account and stra-tegically prioritise issues of national interest and global competitiveness.

59Expansion vs. Quality

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Yizengaw, T. 2005. Policy Development in Higher Education in Ethiopia and the Roleof Donors and Development Partners. In: Nuffic Conference, ‘‘A Changing Landscape’’,23–25 May 2005, The Hague.

The author

Daniel S. Alemu is an Assistant Professor of education at The Sage Colleges in Troy,

New York. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Illinois StateUniversity. He has worked as a school principal and taught in elementary schools in hishome country, Ethiopia. His publications and presentations address issues such asschool safety and faculty departure in the United States, and instructional language

policy and private higher education issues in Ethiopia.Contact address: The Sage Colleges, 45 Ferry Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA.

E-mail: alemud@sage.edu.

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