Perceptions, Challenges, and Opportunities for University Autonomy: The Experience of Addis Ababa University’s Governance Reform Initiative

One of the most critical issues in the 21st-century higher education academic discourseincluding the discourse in the Ethiopian context is the extent to which African universities enjoythe status of autonomous universities. An autonomous university is set in the best of conditionsto exercise independence, total control, and management of itself in its overall functioning,including academic, financial, and institutional freedom of inquiry. However, this statement ofautonomy has been threatened by many African countries to an unprecedented degree, asstressed in the Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility.Looking at higher education in Ethiopia, it has been influenced by government-favored politicalideology (Ashenafi Aboye & Metcalfea, 2021) for at least three regimes (1916-2018). This studyhas attempted to bring to the forefront the recent Ethiopian experience of reforming its highereducation governance into an autonomous status. The objectives of this study were to explorethe very drives for higher education autonomy in the Ethiopian context and analyze theenabling factors and associated challenges towards it. Taking Addis Ababa University, theoldest and biggest national university in the country, and employing a descriptive researchmethodology where quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a surveyquestionnaire and document review, the study revealed significant challenges and limitedprogress in introducing autonomous governance in Addis Ababa University at both conceptualand practical levels. The dire need for members of the university community and stakeholdersto get all on board for a shared vision, the unwavering commitment of the government tosupport universities, and the need to develop the infrastructural capacities of universitiesemerged as critical requirements for successful autonomy. Furthermore, the study assertedthat the process, nature, and procedures of granting universities an autonomous status varyfrom context to context and from time to time, being so complex that the exercise attracts manyactors such as the government, public universities, external donors, non-governmentalorganizations and different professional societies to play.