Jimma University, Ethiopia

Jimma University, Ethiopia

Renowned as a national pioneer in community-based education, JimmaUniversity is Ethiopia’s first innovative Community Oriented Practical Education (COPE) educational institution of higher learning. COPE institutions are recognized by the Ministry of Education as excelling in civic engagement as a key academic activity. The university is located 335 kilometers south west of Addis Ababa at JimmaTown.The university is making every endeavor to address societal needs and promote holistic and sustainable development in the country.

Although the Ethiopian government has not formally embraced civic engagement within the higher education policy framework, the efforts by the university have led to the Ministry of Education recognizing the program. This in turn has smoothed the progress of other institutions of higher learning to adapt part of the university’s community-based education policy in their own localities.

Approach to civic engagement

Civic education at the university centers on community-based education, which is the core philosophy of the university. Although the university started and has deeply entrenched civic engagement within the field of health, the university is now working toward making community-based education the main strategy for linking the university and the community. It has also developed training programs for members from nongovernmental organizations.

The strategy is mandatory in all faculties and is implemented through three programs: the Community-based Training Program, the Team Training Program, and the Student Research Program.

The Community-based Training Program runs from the beginning to the end of the students’ academic training. It is a holistic (integrated), multiphased, university-wide program that orients students to the different aspects of community service and development.

The Team Training Program is carried out during the final year of study. It targets only communities in the vicinity of the university. This program is facilitated by the faculty of Public Health, and students engage community members in research-oriented activities toward solving community health problems. The focus is on primary health care.

The Student Research Program is aimed at enhancing the students’ problem-solving skills. It is a requirement for final year medical students and students in the post basic degree program. During this period they carry out an independent research project which is community-based, scientifically and ethically acceptable, and action oriented.

Resources

The program receives some funding from external agencies such as the governments of Ireland and Ethiopia. Faculty research in the program is supported annually by the Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission as well as the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization.

Within the university’s operating budget, resources for civic engagement activities are centrally allocated for the three different programs: Community-based Training, Team Training, and Student Research.

Challenges

Financial support for civic engagement is diminishing at the university. This is especially because of the phasing out of the grant from the government of Ireland, which was one of the institution’s major funding partners. As a result, logistical constraints such as transportation have crept in, thus impeding the program’s implementation. The university is also faced with the ongoing challenge of getting ‘buy in’ from the program’s major stakeholders such as students and faculty, as well as the country’s political leadership.

Conclusion

The distinctive strength of the university is its long and rich history of a multidisciplinary, participatory approach to community development.Civic engagement activitiesat the university are viewed not as a peripheral or casual experience, but as standard and integral. They are also seen as part of a continuing education process. Student involvement with communities during their training is ‘real work’ that relates to their educational experience and also forms part of the requirements for obtaining a degree or diploma.

Community-based Training Program

The Community-based Training Program is an integrated institutional program that runs in phases from the first year to graduation. Built into it is a regular follow-up program. It involves students, faculty, commerce and industry, civic leaders, the communities within a 50 kilometer radius, and government departments responsible for health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, and technology.

The multiphased program has specifically defined educational objectives for each phase. During each phase, students working in groups of 10 to 12 members are assigned to urban, semi urban or rural communities with an approximate population of 600 to10,000.

At the end of the program students are expected to:

• Define demographic, socioeconomic, political and environmental aspects of a given community;
• Be able to make a community diagnosis and draw up a sound action plan, which would enable them to suggest appropriate interventions;
• Use the concept of community participation and a multisectoral approach to organize intervention measures; and
• Plan and conduct problem-oriented and community-based research.

The program has enabled the university to train students in a wide variety of fields within the community setting. It has promoted an integrated, holistic approach in addressing societal problems. The university has also managed to embed the learning culture that uses the community extensively as a learning environment, in which not only students but also teachers, members of the community, and representatives of other sectors are actively engaged throughout the educational experience.

At a glance

• The Network of Community Partnership for Health through Innovative Education, Service, and Research