Council of Ministers enacts education and training policy, approves draft proclamations
Addis Ababa, February 27, 2023 (FBC) – The Council of Ministers, during its 17th Ordinary Session, has discussed a draft policy, two draft proclamations and a regulation related to various sectors and passed resolution accordingly.
The first draft bill the council discussed and approved is the draft policy on education and training. It is stated that the current policy has not been amended for the past 28 years therefore it has hindered efforts to produce entrepreneurial citizens and has gaps in terms of encouraging technological and creative activities. It is also said to have avoided indigenous knowledge and impeded activities under way to ensure a range of national benefits.
Therefore, a draft policy has been prepared and presented to the Council of Ministers with the goal of providing quality education to all children and youth, and producing multilingual and competitive generation cognizant of the global realities.
After extensive discussion on the draft policy, the council unanimously decided to enact the draft policy as of today, February 27, 2023.
Next, the council discussed a bill proposed to enact autonomous universities, so that higher education institutions can decide independently about their academic activities, become internationally competitive learning-teaching and research institutions where the society can get its own multi-faceted social services.
The draft proclamation is also aimed to help universities expand their revenue sources and manage their own budgets. After extensive discussion on the draft decree, the council unanimously decided to forward it to the House of People’s Representatives for approval.
The third issue discussed by the council was a draft regulation to determine the duties and responsibilities and benefits of academic technical assistants working in higher government education institutions and teaching hospitals, and the rights and obligations of professionals who provide services in laboratories, industries, and research and community service centers in public higher education institutions.
After extensive discussion on the proposed draft regulation, the council unanimously decided to make it effective from the day it was published in the National Negarit Gazette.
Finally, the council discussed the draft proclamation on higher education, technical and vocational education training, research institutes – industry linkages. It is stated during the discussion that the efforts of higher education institutions in cooperation with industries to produce skilled manpower needed by the market have been hindered by various challenges and did not achieve the desired results.
The bill has been prepared as it is necessary to regulate the rights and obligations of all stakeholders so that the relationship to be established between the institutions and industries is based on the transfer of knowledge backed by a legal framework.
The council thoroughly discussed and approved unanimously the draft proclamation and forwarded it to the House of People’s Representatives for approval by adding necessary points to be included in the decree.