Governance Reforms in Higher Education of Ethiopia: The Case of Autonomy and Accountability in Addis Ababa University

This study was set to assess the iffoct of higher education governance andmanagement refrms (introduced following the 1.9.94 Education and TrainingPolicy of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia) on erosion/extension ofautonomy and accountability of the academic staff by taking the case o/ AddisAbaba University, the oldest and the largest university in Ethiopia .. Quantitativeand qualitative data were collected in 2012/2013 .from senior officials of theMinistry of Education and .from senior and junior officials of the Addis AbabaUniversity, in addition to .from the University s prifessoriate. Policy and reformdocuments were also reviewed to complement the data collection process. Theresults suggest mixed conclusions. Senior officials complied with the content ofgovernment documents that assert great success in implementation of highereducation reform, including extending autonomy. However, the Addis AbabaUniversity junior officials (deans and department heads) and most academic staffmembers claimed p reponderance of critical challenges in the implementationprocess if the higher education reforms due to government strategy of demandingmore accountability without the attendant autonomy (the power to makedecisions). The difference in perspectives of the two groups suggests conflictinginterests: the academic staff demands more autonomy in reform planning (not only implementation),· but officials demand more accountability for rifbrm implementation. .It is, therifbre, concluded that reform strategies are more likely to succeed when implementation strategy is preceded by participation if implementers in the design process.Keywords: Governance reform, higher education, autonomy, accountability, Addis AbabaUniversity, Ethiopi