Students’ Expectations and Attitude towards Foreign-Supplied Post-Graduate Programmes through Ethiopian Private Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Last few decades have witnessed the emergence of various forms of educational exports, e.g. distance-education, online-education etc., mainly caused by the phenomenon of globalization and advancement of Information Technology (IT). This placed education at the threshold of transformation, by allowing the society to demand quality education, and the government to create additional partners, specifically from private domain, to satisfy such needs. However, in recent times, many Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are also delivering programmes, pertaining to some degree/diploma or certificate, being offered by foreign universities, and often viewed as an adjunct to distance-education or study abroad, at least in the Ethiopian context. Despite the growth of ‘at home’ mode of delivery of educational services, many researchers still focus on the traditional public-private competition, rather exploring the perspectives for getting benefitted in a more marketing-oriented manner. This paper attempts to investigate the issues associated with ‘at home’ delivery of educational services by the private HEIs in Ethiopia. Specifically, the paper examines the expectations and attitudes of 215 Ethiopian students pertaining to the delivery of postgraduate programmes by foreign universities. Furthermore, ‘at home’ mode of delivery, through Ethiopian private HEIs, is not only found to be helpful in narrowing the gap between the demand and supply aspects, but also reported to be adding value and quality to the higher education system of the nation.