The article entitled "Getting Universities Right", and carried on Fortune, 18 February 2007 reminded me of my childhood when some of my classmates had to travel for three days and nights to cross the ragged Simien mountains to reach the small school in a village where we enjoyed our elementary education.  It also reminds me of the heart rending atmosphere which left hopeless and helpless after hard work for twelve years 99.9 percent of the students who sat for Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Exam in the same village with only a single fortunate soul making it to the Addis Ababa University.   Surprisingly enough, the total number of students who sat for the national exam that specific year was about 280,000 but those who were lucky to be admitted were only 3000. 

Ever since the introduction of modern education in Ethiopia, the system had encountered a number of challenges.  The school system in our country, both traditional and modern has been the focus of persistent evaluation and remains to be a topic highly debated.  However, this writer believes the educational system in a given country should be evaluated in light of its outcome - especially in changing the lives of the people. 

In this regard, the incumbent government which came to power in 1991, of all the development activities it is conducting in the entire country, has given priority and serious attention for the expansion of education, allocating to the sector the lion's share of the country's annual budget.  In fact, this might not be surprising in a country where a single general practitioner is serving hundreds of thousands of people.  In some of the emerging regions like Gambella and Benishangul until recently there has never been a single female college graduate in the service of her people.  This was the result of inequitable distribution of educational facilities. 

As opposed to the arguments in the article, what exactly is happening now in our country in the area of higher education is not the erection of huge structures and high-rises with glittering facades.  It is rather a long-term investment on the future intended to pull out the country from the cradle to the platform. 

The construction of 13 new universities and the rising number of new colleges and universities in a country of over 70 million people is surely heartening but by no means commensurate with our needs.  But no one could believe the significant gains made in raising the number of our higher learning institutions from only 3 universities to 21 in  less than two decades with the number of students admitted soaring to 120,000 dwarfing the initial 3,000. 

Today, one can happily observe, college students from different corners of the country attending classes in the remotest region of Afar, where the pastoralists were destined to follow the tails of their cattle.  Just a few years back, it was almost unthinkable to imagine this to happen. 

Endeavours in the sector over the last fifteen years have started bearing fruit especially in the mainstay of the economy, agriculture.   Government decision to train tens of thousands Agricultural Agents who work very closely with farmers, has ultimately resulted in creating a batch of farmers who own hundreds of thousands in cash and in kind.  More needs to be done on the part of the government to establish Agricultural Technical Schools in every region, even at the Woreda level to produce more graduates -capable, energetic and willing young Ethiopians who enthusiastically spend their time supporting the farmers.  This was not a sudden strike but an achievement gained with a concerted effort of the government and the public at large. 

The stride Ethiopia has made in this connection is applauded by those institutions like the World Bank, UNESCO and others which usually are known for their critical observation regarding our economic and development endeavors.  Assessments released by these institutions portrayed Ethiopia as a nation which registered promising results that could lead to the successful achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 

When raising the issue of education no one could miss the tacit agreement among the government, the public and critics on maintaining quality, so that the system can ultimately produce well trained, capable and skilled man power. 

In this connection, parallel with the mushrooming higher institutions, both governmental and private, an Agency which is diligently working to evaluate the standard and quality of curricula, the organizational strength of the institutions and qualification of instructors is established.  The Agency as per its mandate has finalized mapping out the guideline which enables it to conduct its activities.  As a result, based on the evidences acquired from the Agency, the Ministry of Education has revoked the licenses of some institutions for failing to meet the required standards. 

With the growing number of young people demanding for access to education, our country has embarked on diversifying the whole sector from the previous purely academic to a multifaceted doctrines-based educational system seeking to boost national development endeavors. 

Gone are the days when education was considered a privilege of the few and we have to join hands to push a notch forward on-going endeavours in the sector which has already begun paying dividends.