The First University-based National Examination Management in Ethiopia: Stakeholders’ Preparations

Abstract

To control the pressing concern of exam stealing and cheating among grade 12 students, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Educational Assessment and Examinations Service (EAES) decided to manage the Ethiopian Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESSLCE) at public universities since 2022. As this ESSLCE management practice is new in the country, it calls for scientific investigation to document evidence. Thus, the main objective of this study was to examine key stakeholders’ preparations. An exploratory qualitative design was used. Regions and city administrations were sampled purposively, and the sampled regions’ and city administrations’ educational bureaus and universities were selected conveniently. Interview guides and document analysis forms were used as instruments of data collection. Sixty-three (63) officials and experts were interviewed, and four MoE’s and EAES’s documents were analysed. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The result revealed that the preparations made by key stakeholders such as the MoE, EAES, universities, invigilators, regional and city administration education bureaus, supervisors and students were not enough. Major reasons for the inadequacy of preparations were time pressure, budget constraints, security issues, limited resources, social media misinformation, limited awareness among students, students’ parents and communities, transportation and accommodation problems, and lack of a standard operational manual. Document analysis result also showed preparations were made in the presence of the aforementioned problems. The MoE and EAES should prepare a standard manual with the active participation of all stakeholders. Also, necessary orientations, logistics and resources ought to be in place for ESSLCEs.