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Nebeyou Gebrekidan, 16,
was riding a taxi back from school on Tuesday,
September 14, 2010, after he had filled out a form
determining what he would study in the future. En
route, he was discussing the choice that would
determine what he would study for the next few years
with his friend.
He had scored 1.8 out of a possible total of 4.0 in
the Ethiopian General School Leaving Certificate
Examination (EGSLCE), which is taken by all 10th
grade students, in July 2010.
Since his grade was below the passing mark of 2.34
for males, which would have enabled him to go to
preparatory school for university, his choice was
limited to courses offered by Technical and
Vocational Educational Training (TVET) colleges. He
went to the TVET college he was assigned to, with no
idea of what to choose and selected a course that
sounded good to him.
Nebeyou, who was raised
by parents who had not receive formal education, was
not given any advice or counselling from his school
to prepare him for the choices he had to make, he
claimed. This is the reality for the many students
who were filling out forms across the country in the
first week of the Ethiopian New Year.
Much to his surprise and dismay, he later found out
what exactly tailoring meant and what profession he
would be pursuing after he had picked it. However,
when he went back to change his selection, his
excuse fell on deaf ears at the college.
The education system in Ethiopia is structured as
such: Primary education (age group six to 14) lasts
for eight years and is divided into two cycles:
basic education (grades one to four) and general
education (grades five to eight). Secondary
education is also divided into two cycles: general
secondary education (grades nine and 10) and
preparatory secondary education (grades 11 and 12).
In the 10th grade, students take a national exam to
determine if they will join the preparatory
secondary education cycle or go into technical and
vocational training. Once they have made it to
preparatory education, they are required to choose
between the social science and natural science
streams.
Although schools with general secondary education
programmes are required to give grade 10 students
who sit for the EGSLCE an orientation about the
choices they have, only a few schools do it.
Workinesh Mekonnen, 18,
recently graduated from Entoto TVET College in Food
and Beverage Administration. When she chose what
course to pursue two years ago, she selected this
while what she meant to choose was cooking. She
received no counselling or explanation about the
form and had to make the decision on her own, she
claimed.
“I had wanted to study cooking, but looking through
the list I thought Food and Beverage Administration
meant that, as my English was not very good,” she
told Fortune. “Now, instead of preparing food like I
had wanted, I am stuck with serving it.”
The claims by students of not receiving proper
guidance in the choices they have to make in their
education is unfounded, according to Daniel
Gebrekidan, vice dean of Entoto TVET college, which
accepts students from 16 public schools.
“This used to occur when the forms were filled out
at the National Examination Agency, but now students
are given orientation in Amharic before they fill
out the forms at the school,” he told Fortune.
However, the orientation might not help students to
understand the impact of the choices they make, as
it is often given by teachers who do not have a
thorough understanding of the courses listed on the
forms, Daniel admitted.
Most of the students who sit for the EGSLCE are
agaed between 16 and 18. Like many teenagers who are
at a very impressionable stage of their lives, many
decisions they make are impulsive and not well
thought out.
“Children aged between 15 and 20 are at a stage
where they start seeking to find themselves and are
easily influenced by their families, friends, and
their upbringing,” Teka Zewdie (PhD), associate
professor and director of the Institution of
Psychology at Addis Abeba University (AAU), told
Fortune.
“They should be provided with guidance and
counselling to save them from making emotional
decisions due to their vulnerable age. Many of the
decisions they make now may not exactly portray the
desire they have for the future.”
The guidance and counselling students get seem to
vary from school to school, with private schools
providing it better.
“We give students an orientation before they take
the model and actual examination for 10th grade,
giving them ample time before they decide the course
they want to take in their academic career,” Abayneh
Eshete, academic director of Lideta Catholic
Cathedral Secondary School (LCCSS), told Fortune.
“The school advises students on what to choose,
based on their academic performance and interest.”
Mattias Michael, 16, a
preparatory school student of LCCSS, joined the
natural science stream after consulting his parents
and receiving counselling and guidance from his
teachers. Weighing his inclination towards numbers
coupled with the advice he received, he felt that he
would have better job opportunities if he pursued
the natural science stream, rather than the social
sciences.
Yet, there was no one to advise Azeb Girma and
Tegereda Mengesha, both 18, who went to Bole Higher
Secondary and Preparatory School, about their
decision not to pursue the college preparatory
course because they felt too old and wanted to spend
as little time as possible in school, despite having
scored 3.4 and 2.4 in the EGSLCE respectively, well
above the 2.14 passing mark for females.
They had decided not to enrol in college preparatory
study and pursued teacher’s education for three
years at Kotebe Teachers Education College to
decrease their time in school, which would have been
six years had they pursued the preparatory and
college route.
Berkenesh Zewde, a stay
at home mother of six, has three boys who attend the
same school. Two of them scored above the passing
mark to enrol in the college preparatory course, but
none have received any counselling in their choice
of streams.
“Both my husband and I are not in a position to
advise our children, as we are both uneducated,”
Berknesh told Fortune.
The school denies this claim.
“The school provides consultation and advice for the
students, even inviting experts from the natural and
social science streams, before they choose and fill
out the forms,” said Measho Admasu, head of the
School Administration Development Department of Bole
Higher Secondary and Preparatory School.
Accounts from students, teachers, schools, and
parents about the level of advice and consultation
students receive at the crossroads of their
educational and, consequently, their professional
careers, where the decision they make determines the
choice of fields they can study in college, varies.
Yet, it is evident that there is no uniform approach
to the issue, with some schools doing a lot more
than others.
Many students, who are caught up in the
impetuousness that comes with adolescence, often
miss the bigger picture and may end up making
decisions that go against their inclinations and
interests.
This is cause for worry, according to Teka.
“Much has to be done in the schools, and students
should be able to choose their career plans with the
help of their teachers who know their ability and
families who have known them since their childhood,”
Teka said. |
