Only 46.6% of Prospective Graduates Pass University Exit Exam

ADDIS ABABA – Public higher institutions fare better than private ones as Ethiopian education authorities revealed the university exit exams’ results for this year’s graduates.

The Ministry of Education introduced the exit exams in all undergraduate university programs this academic year. The move came after warnings that the quality of the tertiary education system was dropping and standards didn’t line up with employers’ expectations.

40.56% Average Passing Rate 

Nearly 220 universities in the country saw a total of 150,184 qualified candidate graduates appear for the exit exams administered online for six days beginning last Saturday.

in a press briefing today, State Minister of Education Samuel Kifle (Ph.D.) announced the exit exam results stating 40.65% of the total prospective graduates managed to pass the exam.

This means only 61,054 candidates will graduate with their bachelor’s degrees guaranteed in the 2022/23 academic year.

Mixed Results 

The national scores show a mix of results between private and public higher institutions.

This year’s private universities’ prospective graduates have in general underperformed with their results bringing the national average passing rate down.

Nearly 84,630 students from 48 public universities and 109,239 students from 171 private institutions were qualified and registered to take the exit tests,

However, 150,184 of the combined total of 194, 239 registered students managed to take the exams, according to the Ministry of Education.

The results show 62.37% or (48,632) of students of public universities score 50% and above while only 17.2% of the 72, 203 students of private universities students pass the exam.

In total, the state minister said 61,054 prospective graduates passed the university exit exam this year, scoring 50 percent and above,  

Additional chances planned

The Ministry will publish the exit exams’ results online (See link https://result.ethernet.edu.et/) and says students can check their score as of Sunday night using their user name.

Students who have failed to score the passing point, won’t get their bachelor’s degree now.

They will, however, be given additional opportunities to take the exit exams, according to Education authorities. The next round of exams will be scheduled after six months.

Overall, state Minister Samuel said the exit exams process was a success. With the exception of a few brief power and internet interruptions cases, the exams have been conducted without any challenges, he added.