Building a Civilly Engaged Private Campus: The Challenges and Prospects of Civic Education in Private Higher Learning Institutions in Ethiopia

Abstract

Since the early 1990s there has been a global trend towards a greater understanding on the relevance of civic education for the creation of responsible and competent citizens that nurture and support a democratic order. Currently Ethiopia finds itself at important cross roads in terms of fully entrenching democratic order. It is imperative that both public and private institutions have a shared commitment to such an important task. Civic education programs have become an integral part of Ethiopia’s school curriculum both at the level of primary and secondary schools. Even though such a nation-wide endeavor still faces serious challenges, the program has achieved a measured success. The provision of civic and ethical education has now been introduced to both private and public higher learning institutions. In this essay the author seeks to: 1. discuss the philosophical and legitimizing myth of a civilly engaged private higher education institution in Ethiopia; 2. identify the nature of problems encountered by Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in the provision of civic and ethical education; 3. highlight institutional problems in the Ministry of education’s regulatory framework where the provision of civic and ethical education by PHEIs is monitored and supervised; 4. discuss the perception of educators, teachers and students towards civic and ethical education; 5. indicate the numerous institutional approaches being followed in few selected PHEIs in Addis Ababa; 6. provide recommendations for enhancing the provision of quality civic and ethical education in PHEIS in Ethiopia. Though there has been a growing research interest that aims to navigate the potentials and limitations of PHEIs in Ethiopia, the problem of inventing a civilly engaged private higher education institution has not been adequately considered. As stated earlier, this research paper seeks to contribute to the task of filling such gap. Investigation into the challenges of PHEIs in the provision and management of civic and ethical education hence has been undertaken through the following research techniques, (1) Literature review covering existing literature and documentations on the subject matter; (2) Conducting of interviews that involve officials of Ministry of Education, educators, students, teachers and others; (3) Focused group discussion among educators, teachers, and students from selected colleges.