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.
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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.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300041