The nuts and bolts of quality assurance in Ethiopian higher education: practices, pitfalls, and prospects

This study was conducted to examine the practices, challenges, and prospects of using accreditation, external quality audit, and internal quality assurance as major components of the quality assurance (QA) regime in the Ethiopian higher education sector. The research used documentary evidence and interview as principal means of investigation. The findings revealed that, despite availing the tools and mechanisms for assuring quality both at national and institutional levels, the sectoral practice lags behind policy directions with little coordination among the discrete QA schemes deployed. This has resulted not only in undermining the possible gains from each component of the QA regime but also in achieving the greater purpose of promoting quality higher education at a national level. The findings further imply that improvements should be made to strengthen the system by maximizing desired results and reducing unnecessary efforts and costs. It is suggested that unless enough considerations are made in examining the efficiency of each QA mechanism and creating the needed synergy within the system, the quality of higher education in Ethiopia may be fraught with dim prospects. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.