ETHIOPIA

ETHIOPIA: Huge new science institute planned
Ethiopia's Ministry of Education is to construct an institute of science that will enrol close to 40,000 students a year, reports Addis Fortune. The new institute will be located in Dukem, 37 kilometres east of the capital Addis Abeba. The decision follows a budget planning exercise by various ministries, and was prompted by a desire to boost natural science enrolments, sources disclosed.Following a debate on whether to carry out expansion in the existing eight universities, or to construct a brand new institute, the federal government chose the latter because, it was reported, universities had demanded a high price for expansion. The Ethiopian government has also reported decided that higher education institutions should enrol 70% natural science and 30% social science students.
There are 13 additional universities currently under construction. When these are completed, the annual enrolment capacity of the nation's universities is expected to grow from 30,000 to 112,000 students.
Full report on the AllAfrica.com site