AY 2007-2008 Projects - Africa

Country                       Ethiopia
City                              Addis Ababa
Host Institution           St. Mary’s University College

Project Description
The goal of this project is to facilitate mutual understanding, the building of democratic institutions and to encourage Ethiopia’s participation in the global economy through the teaching of English. In 2000, Ethiopia began a push to expand higher education in order to accommodate ever-increasing numbers of youth. Facing the challenges of brain drain and a dearth of qualified instructors at the University level, the government began a massive capacity building campaign which has yet to bear fruit. Other recent changes in Ethiopia’s education policy have created severe problems for higher education. For several years government primary and secondary schools have been obliged to run on split-shifts to accommodate large numbers of students. This places pressure on teachers in the form of increased workloads and large classes, to the detriment of their teaching success. As a result, general academic performance has declined. English, introduced to students in grade four, is the medium of instruction at the tertiary level. At present however, the standard of English taught in secondary schools does not adequately prepare students for University-level work. To complicate matters further, the Ministry of Education recently recalibrated the educational system so that college freshmen are now what used to be high school juniors, meaning that students now have even less time to reach an acceptable level of English before entering university. Tertiary institutions lack appropriate and up to date English teaching curricula. Most teachers rely on their own ingenuity to come up with workable solutions. Large classes, averaging 60 to 80 students, render the teaching of spoken English in particular a formidable challenge. At the secondary level a new mandatory program of televised teaching designed to raise the quality of English instruction has created numerous problems for teachers and students alike. 

Project Objectives
This year, higher education institutions in the country have shown tremendous interest in hosting EL Fellows as their curriculum has made it necessary to revise and at the same time improve the quality of English language. Up and coming private university colleges have also shown interest in hosting EL Fellows, testimony to the wide popularity the Program has had recently. Hence, St. Mary’s University College requests an EL Fellow. The work planned for this EL Fellow will be demanding as s/he will be attached for the first time to a private institution. It will offer a taste of the level of sophistication that private colleges and universities have developed over the last few years in Ethiopia. The proposed EL Fellow for St. Mary’s will undertake, among other tasks, the following major activities: development of standardized teaching materials (20%), hosting in-house seminars and workshops on English language teaching (20%), standardizing examination and courses (10%), teaching English as a second language (40%) and establishing links with local and international institutions (10%).  

About the Host Institution
St. Mary’s University College is one of the flourishing private institutions in Ethiopia, with a student population of more than 10,000. It is located in the busy capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. It is one of the pioneers in the development of distance education with more than 20,000 students in 60 branches all over the country. Its impressive and controlled growth over the past few years has made it a very good partner for PAS Addis Ababa to work in collaboration with in various programming efforts.