Improving Delivery Of Quality Secondary Education

The subject of this editorial is a topic we have deliberated on before. The results of the national school leaving examination for the 2023-2024 academic year announced that the Ministry of Education announced this week have yet again turned out to be appalling. Out of the 684,405 students who sat for the exams, 36,409 scored the minimum 50 percent or higher threshold to be eligible for enrollment in universities, representing a passing rate of 5.4 percent. While this figure is an improvement of just over 2 percent in comparison to the 3.2 percent pass rate of the preceding academic year, they still leave a lot to be desired. Some of the other numbers cited by the by the Minister of Education are equally troubling. Only 9 percent of the 321,536 students who took the exams from the natural sciences stream scored 50 percent and above. The proportion of students who made the cut in the social sciences stream was even worse, with just 2 percent of the 353,287 students who sat for the exams achieving a passing grade. The most alarming of the numbers disclosed by the minister though is the failure of some 1,363 schools to field even a single student who can go on to pursue university studies. These worrying figures reaffirm that the country’s educational system is in a bad shape and underscore the imperative to find a way out of the seemingly interminable vicious cycle.

The bevy of long-running shortcomings to which the minister attributed the dismal showing in previous national exam results is still valid today. Experts in the field have been arguing for some time now that Ethiopia’s 1994 education policy is one of if not the major factor responsible for the nation’s poor education quality, pointing that it decidedly leans towards expanding access to education than to assuring quality. There is no denying that the policy has brought about some commendable outcomes over the past few decades in terms of raising the rate of literacy. The rise of a plethora of trying challenges both intrinsic and external to the sector during the policy’s implementation, however, has had a decidedly negative impact on the delivery of quality education. Chief among these are the low regard for meritocracy and lack of accountability due to the blatant politicization of the education system; the absence of adequate educational facilities and materials; the poor quality and working conditions of teachers; the cross-cutting effects of internecine strife; and endemic corruption.

The implications of this year’s dreadful results are manifold. Low scores limit students’ options or prevent them from pursuing higher education altogether. This restriction can result in a waste of human potential, diminishing the chances for many ambitious students to advance their education and achieve their career aspirations. Consistent poor performance in national examinations is also indicative of deeper systemic issues within the education sector, such as inadequate teaching quality, poorly designed curricula, and insufficient educational resources. These results suggest that students may not be receiving the necessary foundational knowledge or critical thinking skills to succeed academically.

The long-term economic implications of poor educational outcomes are significant. A workforce that lacks essential skills and knowledge can hinder economic growth and development. As Ethiopia aspires to extricate itself from the clutches of poverty, a proficient and educated workforce is crucial for driving innovation, improving productivity, and attracting foreign investment. Poor examination results restrict the development of a skilled labor market, resulting in reduced competitiveness and slowing down the country’s progress toward industrialization and economic development. Moreover, the absence of the opportunity for economic betterment for the hundreds of thousands of students who will not be eligible to join universities and the concomitant hike in youth unemployment has the potential to fuel a sense of disenfranchisement among them, thereby entailing grave political consequences.

Negative examination outcomes can further demoralize teachers and educators, leading to a lack of motivation and enthusiasm in the classroom. Educators may feel inadequately supported or impugned for poor results, fostering an environment of frustration and disengagement. This is liable to create a cycle of underperformance, where low morale translates into lower quality teaching, creating an entrenched problem within the education system.

Addressing the implications of the poor Grade 12 national examination results is no easy task; it requires a holistic and multi-faceted approach involving various stakeholders. One thing is sure: blaming previous governments is not and cannot be a solution in itself. Although the duty to overcome the challenges affecting the performance of students in standardized exams lies with the government, they alone cannot hope to make headway if other stakeholders like students, school administrators, teachers and parents are not empowered to play an active role in the search for solutions. Undertaking a comprehensive review of the factors that are responsible for the sorry state of Ethiopian education, formulating a roadmap informed by existing local and global realities; conducting a rigorous evaluation of the administration of education with a view to ensure accountability and the delivery of quality education; availing the necessary human, financial and material resources for the sector insofar as capacity permits; and galvanizing popular support for these initiatives can go a long way towards this end. Failure to implement these strategies is sure to perpetuate the problems impeding the delivery of quality secondary education in Ethiopia.