| Abstract: | The main purpose of this study was to explore and understand Realities and Challenges of Private
Higher Education Institutions to promote Quality education for sustainable development in Ethiopia:
The case of St. Mary’s University (hereafter referred as SMU). Exploratory qualitative case study
research strategy was employed and data were collected from purposively selected twenty
students that were enrolled at SMU in 2014 academic year, who were selected by using snowball
sampling technique., four instructors in each undergraduate departments of SMU, parents and
data regarding realities and challenges of private higher education institutions particularly in the
case of SMU was collected by using semi-structured in-depth interview and from documents
published in the area of higher education in general and SMU in particular in areas of quality
education. The data were then inductively analyzed by creating themes from the raw data collected
through in-depth interview and documents. The findings of the present study revealed that the
value SMU strives to deliver quality service in teaching learning, research and focusing on
community outreach areas than the public universities. Even though, there were benefits that
Ethiopian students got in pursuing their education in the public universities with no immediate
educational pay but the major input i.e. students highly affected by drug and substance abuse,
hopelessness, and identity shock. Besides, the sectoral policies devised the demand for higher
education in the country challenges the private higher educational institutions to admit those who
were dropout of public universities with different educational , social, and psychological problem
and these problems were not properly managed due to the tension between the instructors,
parents, and the policy makers. Thus, since those who dropped out of campus joined the private
higher education institutions, it is then recommended that SMU should create deep collaboration
with parents, policy makers, industries, and schools at each level in order to assure both the
quality and productivity of the human resource and realize the full aspirations of the private higher
education institutions in their endeavor to maintain sound sustainable development and to protect
the nation, the country’s productive force from misuse if the areas of focus and government
intervention to protect these core educational quality; the youth; not to expose to drug, substance
abuse, westernization in a negative context by devising life skill education, strong regulatory
policies for drug dealers particularly in the regional universities. And close collaboration with
parents and caregivers, so as to get more out of these youngsters to the Ethiopia developmental
policy and address contemporary issues in the country. Underpinned by a model adapted to the
research purpose, the study complemented not only to the existing knowledge in the area, but it
also contributed to the fact that there was no research made in non-western countries like Ethiopia
over this interesting and potential rich area. |
