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Re-engaging with community service in universities

Article · May 2019

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ETHIOPIA

Re-engaging with community service in universities

Wondwosen Tamrat 03 May 2019
The goals of higher education in Ethiopia are closely linked to national development and
poverty reduction. Higher education institutions are accordingly expected to align their
major activities with national needs and societal demands.

The Ethiopian Higher Education Proclamation (2009) identifies the “design and
provision of community and consultancy services that shall cater to the developmental
needs of the country” as one of the objectives and a major responsibility of higher
education institutions.

The Education Sector Development Programme V (2015) also emphasises the need for
positive community engagement through various means, including research that can
respond to national and institutional priorities and development plans.

The same document emphasises the need for community consultation and envisages the
establishment of a national multi-sectoral stakeholder panel to produce a national
research and community engagement framework, institutional research and community
engagement strategies, and a resource mobilisation and utilisation system for research
and community services, although these are yet to be realised.

Past experiences

The higher education sector in Ethiopia has had wide-ranging experience in community
outreach activities, the most notable perhaps being the Ethiopian University Service, a
mandatory year-long national service in the 1970s which required all university students
to serve in rural areas.

Individual universities have also been involved in various forms of community service,
though their performance always varied from one institution to another.

The earlier forms of such engagement at institutional level came through the opening of
an extension division at the Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University)
which mainly focused on adult education programmes conducted in the evenings. This
offering still forms a major component of the training services provided by all Ethiopian
universities.

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In addition to evening and distance programmes, which are popular, special training
and professional assistance have been offered by universities to their surrounding
communities based on perceived needs in areas such as health, industry, agriculture,
rural development, water and finance.

Although most universities continue to engage in these or similar activities, only a few
have distinguished themselves as leading institutions. An outstanding example is the
community-based education programme pioneered by Jimma University which has as
its motto: “We’re in the community”. This approach has been emulated by many other
universities in the country.

Most universities also use community service as a criterion for academic staff
promotions. For instance, the 2013 Senate Legislation of Addis Ababa University –
Ethiopia’s flagship university – regards professional services to the community at local,
regional and national levels as evidence of public service and professional activity.

However, as revealed by the quality audit reports of the Higher Education Relevance
and Quality Agency (2008), such popular programmes are increasingly at risk of being
discontinued or diluted due to the increasing number of students, high attrition rates of
experienced staff, problems related to programming, shortage of transport facilities,
lack of incentives, and limited budgets and time.

New directive, new directions?

A new directive from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education aims at elevating
community service in universities by means of a national harmonised system with
defined elements of accountability.

It clearly defines the areas in which community service might occur, dispelling previous
confusion as to what areas clearly fell under the umbrella term, and calls for structural
changes to realise the plan.

The ministry’s directive identifies core areas of community service as training,

consultancy and outreach or development service or projects, and other professional
services. It proposes to change the previous allocation of staff time – 75% for teaching
and 25% for research – to 60% for teaching, 25% for research and 15% for community
service.

The new directive also demands the creation of the formal organisational and
administrative structures needed for the efficient and effective execution of community

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service activities. A council led by a state minister is expected to be set up at a national
level to oversee activities related to research, technology transfer, university-industry
linkage and community service.

Universities are also expected to set up an office and allocate a budget for the same
purposes, based on priority areas identified. The office is to be accountable to the vice-
chancellor who is a member of the council at the ministry. A community service team
that comprises members of staff and students is also to be established at each university
to be involved in operational tasks.

The nature of community services to be provided by institutions is to be directed

through a thematic approach which requires the identification of local, regional and
national priorities and is based on the relative strength and comparative advantage of
individual universities. In addition to making available their research and-or
technological outputs, higher education institutions are expected to explore, enhance
and utilise indigenous knowledge to solve community problems.

The next steps

Universities have been most frequently criticised for failing to address the concerns and
challenges of their societies, which in turn look upon them as important drivers of
societal transformation.

Despite the existence of community-oriented programmes at Ethiopian universities,

there has been little emphasis on the way such activities have been structured, resourced
and most importantly aligned at sectoral and national levels.

The new directive issued by the ministry is therefore an important step in bridging this
gap and in translating national ideals through unfettered institutional commitments.
While galvanising the university community is an important component of this new
plan, equally important is the role of the community itself.

Any university’s engagement with community heavily depends on the latter’s informed
understanding and participation. Though universities are primarily there to serve their
society, that does not necessarily mean that their role is to respond to every type of
demand that comes without scrutiny and prioritisation. A community that imposes its
will without understanding the capacity, priority and resources of the university will
always be more of a challenge than a partner.

Universities therefore need to seek the participation of the community and its leaders as
regards the priorities to be set and the resources to be deployed. The new plan by the

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 ministry should also consider how the interests of the community and universities are
closely and sustainably aligned in order to realise goals envisaged.

Link: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190501082547889

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