Abstract
Data from the Records Office of the University show that, over the period 1979–2003, Alemaya University trained and graduated a total of 492 students at Masters of Science degree level. The study also reveals that shortage of experienced and highly qualified resident national instructors, brain drain, scarcity of financial resources, lack of laboratory equipment and supplies, and shortage of relevant and up-to-date library materials have been the principal factors affecting the smooth running of postgraduate training programmes. Finally, the study shows that as part of its national capacity building programme, the Ethiopian Government is committed to strengthening the School of Graduate Studies at Alemaya University.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
High-level agricultural manpower training considered in this study refers to the training programmes leading to Masters degrees (M.Sc.).
For further information on the evaluation of the undergraduate programmes of the University, see, for example, Aregay (1969), Asfaw and Belay (1995), Belay (2000), Berhane (1982), Haile Selassie (1964), Vidyarthy and Elsmore (1972).
The undergraduate training programmes of the university are now organized in seven faculties/colleges. These are the College of Agriculture, Faculty of Business and Economics, Faculty of Continuing Education, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
In practice, the College was patronized jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture (Ethiopia) and Oklahoma State University.
It is interesting to note that the national demand for M.Sc. degree holders in agricultural sciences over the 1997–2002 period was estimated at 445 (Belay, 2000).
A candidate who applies to join a postgraduate program at AU is required to be sponsored by his/her employer. Government institutions are encouraged to sponsor their employees to pursue postgraduate studies locally instead of sending them abroad on scholarships. Ocassionally, however, some candidates may fail to secure sponsorship. Such candidates are admitted as private or self-sponsored students and charged tuition fees.
The total budget allocated to all the components of ARTP is 90.6 million USD. The principal objective of the ARTP is to restructure and strengthen the national agricultural research system. The specific objectives of the ARTP include: making the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organisation fully functional with appropriate working procedures and systems; building participatory approaches in a decentralised agricultural system; establishing a management information system and networking of information systems; fostering effective linkages between research, extension and farmers on the one hand, and research centres, domestically and internationally on the other; rehabilitating and strengthening the existing research infrastructre and extending it to hitherto uncovered and harsh agro-ecological areas characterized by extreme poverty; building human resource capacity for agricultural research through technical assistance and training; and strengthening the Alemaya University.
References
Aregay, W. (1969) Attitudes and opinions of junior and senior students in the College of Agriculture AlemayaUnpublished M.Sc. thesisUniversity of Wisconsin.
Asfaw, Z. and Belay, K. (1995) Committee Report on Situation Analysis, Identification of Needs and Envisaged Long Term Plan of Alemaya University of Agriculture, Alemaya, Ethiopia: Alemaya University of Agriculture.
AU (Alemaya University). (2002) Agricultural Research and Training Project (ARTP): Implementation Status of the AU Component of ARTP as on May 2002, Alemaya.
Belay, K. (2000) ‘Empowering agricultural labour in Ethiopia: the challenges to training and development’, Africa Development 25(1&2): 161–190.
Belay, K. (2002) ‘Constraints to extension work in Ethiopia: the insiders' view’, South African Journal of Agricultural Extension 31: 63–79.
Berhane, G. (1982) ‘Higher agricultural education at Addis Ababa University its achievements and challenges’, Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 95–108.
Brannon, L.H. (1966) Our Ethiopian Adventure, Remarks addressed to a banquet audience during the Annual Ethiopia Day on the Oklahoma State University Campus, Stillwater, OK: Office of the International Programmes, the OSU, September 10.
Demissu, G. (2003) The Experience of Addis Ababa University in Graduate StudiesPaper presented in the Curriculum Review Workshop of the M.Sc. Programs in Agricultural Sciences of the Debub University; June 20–21; Awassa, Ethiopia.
Haile Selassie, B . (1964) A Comparative Analysis of Higher Education in Agriculture and a Proposed Plan for Further Developing the System in Ethiopia, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University.
MEDaC (Ministry of Economic Development and Co-operation). (2000) The Ethopian Population Profile: 1999, Addis Ababa: MEDaC.
MoE (Ministry of Education). (2001) Education Statistics Annual Abstract, Addis Ababa: Brihanina Selam Publishing Enterprise.
MoE (Ministry of Education). (2002) Higher Education Capacity Building Program: Education Sector Development Program II, 2002/03-2005/06 Plan, Addis Ababa: MoE.
Shibru, T. (1982) ‘Objectives of graduate studies’, In: T. Shibru et al.(eds.)Proceedings of the Workshop on Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture at Addis Ababa UniversityJune 1982; Alemaya, Ethiopia, Alemayapp.8–11.
Siegenthaler, I.E. (1965) ‘An Evaluation of the Jimma Agricultural Technical School Programme, Jimma, Ethiopia, based upon a study of Jimma graduatesUnpublished Ph.D. dissertationOklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.
Thulstrup, E.W., Fekadu, M. and Negewo, A. (1996) Building research capacity in Ethiopia: sida evaluation 96/9, Department for Research Co-operation, Stockholm.
Vidyarthy, G.S. and Elsmore, D.T.R. (1972) Education Sector Review Final Report: Working Group on Agricultural Education, Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Belay, K. Postgraduate Training in Agricultural Sciences in Ethiopia: Achievements and Challenges. High Educ Policy 17, 49–70 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300041
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300041