| Abstract: | Following trends everywhere else in the world, private higher education
in Ethiopia has recorded significant growth since its expansion began in
the late 1990s. This growth, which reached as high as covering about 17
percent of the total enrollment in the country, has contributed
significantly to the development of the sector as well as the country in
general. However private higher education institutions in Ethiopia also
suffer from different sever challenges. This paper begins by exploring the
state of private higher education in Ethiopia, at institutional and system
level. It discusses issues such as legal and policy framework, enrollment
trends, programs of study, levels of training, mode of delivery,
geographic distribution of the institutions, and institutions that have gone
out of the market. It then delves in to the contributions private higher
education institutions (PHEIs) have made, and are making, and the
various challenges they are faced with. Taking the views of instructors
and administrators from sample PHEIs, the paper finds out that PHEIs
contribute in improving access and equity, playing positive roles in local
development and economy, providing models of entrepreneurial culture
and reform, and offering operational flexibility and efficiency in the
sector. On the other hand the paper identifies the major challenges of
PHEIs pertinent to government regulations and support, and issues of
legitimacy and funding. Finally, the paper suggests a way forward along
with specific recommendations. |
