It was suggested that students of higher education institutions should emerge as entrepreneurs with skills and attitudes beyond the knowledge provided in the classroom.

by kokeb

The Ministry of Education has held a consultation forum on the establishment of centers (Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship Development) so that students can emerge with the appropriate skills and attitudes regarding employment and entrepreneurship during their university stay.

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(Pagumen 1/2017 CE) In his opening remarks, Dr. Eba Mijena, the Executive Director of Academic Affairs in the Higher Education Development Sector, said that higher education institutions should work diligently to instill in students an entrepreneurial attitude and skills, and that the institutions are expected to organize the centers with sufficient resources.

He pointed out that higher education institutions should move beyond the context of only imparting knowledge to their students and transform them into an entrepreneurship ecosystem, and said that work is being done to ensure that the centers have the human resources and organization they need in the future.

The Head of the Teacher and Student Development Desk in the Higher Education Development Sector, Ato Beyene Tezera, stated that higher education institutions are expected to establish and strengthen centers as an important learning and teaching resource where students can practice applying the knowledge they have acquired to the real world and develop their entrepreneurial mindset and skills.

Ato Beyene added that this major responsibility of the institution is to address the increasing problem of graduate unemployment, which strengthens the relationship between higher education and the industry.

On her part, the Chief Officer of the Africa Jobs Network, Ms. Dina Mekonnen, stated that her organization is ready to provide support in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Education, and to provide support to higher education institutions to strengthen their centers with materials and finance.

The Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs and Center Coordinators of all public higher education institutions participated in the meeting. A related research paper and a draft guideline for the center were presented and discussed, and the institutions reached an agreement to implement the guideline.

Source: MoE