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Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Challenges for higher education in eritrea
in the post-independent period to the
present – a case of asmara university
Rena, Ravinder
Eritrea Institute of Technology
2007
Online at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11160/
MPRA Paper No. 11160, posted 17. October 2008 / 09:25

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
1  
CHALLENGES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN ERITREA IN THE 
POST-INDEPENDENT PERIOD TO THE PRESENT 
– A CASE OF ASMARA UNIVERSITY  
 
By Ravinder Rena 1 
 
 
Abstract:  
Eritrean higher education faced numerous challenges over many years. It was 
particularly suffered during the colonial periods.  Eritrea exerted its efforts to develop 
its dilapidated educational system with the advent of its independence. Eritrea 
celebrated its sixteenth birthday recently. However, the educational challenges in 
higher education still remain high. The government of Eritrea established different 
colleges in different administrative regions. The University of Asmara is the only 
university in the country that had to be revitalized after its devastation by the 30-
year war of independence. Since independence, the University has been able to 
contribute to the nation’s skill manpower considerably. This paper examines higher 
education of Eritrea for about 60 years period. It delves the University of Asmara and 
its birth, development and apogee. The paper also gives some insights on recent 
educational development in Eritrea.    
 
Keywords: Higher education, Eritrea, Asmara University, Colonial period, Educational 
development, etc. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
Eritrea is a new nation in the Horn of Africa with a population of approximately 4.3 
million. The modern history of Eritrea dates back to the period of colonization, by 
Italy during more than 50 years (1890-1941) and later for about ten years under the 
administration of the Great Britain. Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in 1952 by 
United Nations’ resolution. During the period 1952-1962, the Ethiopian regime 
undermined the federation and ultimately annexed Eritrea as one of the provinces of 
Ethiopia without the United Nations taking action to defend its own resolution or the 
people of Eritrea. In 1961, an armed struggle for liberation began and lasted for 
thirty years. On 24 May 1991 the thirty-year war concluded with a victory of the 
Eritrean people. In May 1993, Eritrea declared its independence following an 
internationally supervised referendum (Pankhurst, 1972; Pool, 2000; Wrong, 2005; 
Rena, 2006e). 
 
Under the colonial administrations, educational opportunities for Eritreans were very 
limited and focused on colonial cultures and social experiences. Policymakers 
generally agree that the most important factor in the process of socioeconomic 
development is the training of all-round skilled manpower which involves appropriate 
skills, knowledge, attitudes, motivations and resourcefulness to bring about 
improvements in quality of production, services, technology and management 
                                                
 
1 Department of Business and Economics, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Eritrea Institute of 
Technology – Mai Nefhi, Post Box: 7956, Asmara, The  State of Eritrea, North East Africa, Email: 
drravinderrena@gmail.com  , ravinder_rena@yahoo.com  Ph.D. from Dept. of Economics, Osmania 
University, Hyderabad, India, as well as a Universi ty Gold Medal (for the Best Ph.D. candidates/ thesi s in 
the field of Economics/ Commerce/ Business Manageme nt). 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
2  
(Thompson and Fogel, 1976; World Bank, 2002; Rena, 2006d). Accordingly, since 
independence, Eritrea has focused on the education of its people, which is a vital 
element in the process of rebuilding its shattered social and economic infrastructure 
(World Bank, 2003; David, 2004; Rena, 2006a). 
 
During  the  1970s  and  '80s  the  principal opposition movement,  the  Eritrean 
People's  Liberation  Front  (EPLF) developed an alternative educational system in the 
"liberated areas."  Schools had to be held under cover for fear of aerial 
bombardment by the Ethiopian air force.   Many schoolchildren and teachers were 
killed or injured in such attacks (Pool, 1997; Rena, 2005b).  
 
On 24 May 1991, the EPLF defeated the Ethiopian army in Eritrea and succeeded its 
independence.  For the last 16 years of independence, Eritrea has been facing many 
challenges in rebuilding and reconstructing its educational system, from scratch.  In  
the  field of higher education,  the Government of  Eritrea  is attempting  to  fuse  
the  shadow  that  remained of Asmara University  with  the  Research  and  
Information  Center  on  Eritrea  (RICE),  a  loose  association  of  Eritrean  
academics throughout  the world  and  in  the  EPLF-administered areas  themselves. 
Creative approaches are required to tap the skills of Eritrean academics to create a 
new university that fulfills the government's stated aim of respecting academic 
freedom.  
 
The University of Asmara is a young and very small institution that had to be 
revitalized after its devastation by the 30-year war of independence. Since 
independence, the University has been able to contribute to the nation’s skill 
manpower pool 2,821 baccalaureate degree, diploma, certificate holders out of which 
491 were girls and over 1200 civil servants who have undergone intensive 8 weeks 
of training at the management institute. The performance of University with respect 
to achieving high functional standards is yet to be rigorously evaluated.  
 
Method and Material  
The main method employed in this study was an analysis of relevant literature and a 
critical reflection on the author’s research work related to the subject matter. The 
literature search included two main steps: Internet search of accessible and available 
material on higher education in Eritrea, manual search of existing literature, and 
communication with some officers and subject experts to locate published and 
unpublished works and to understand the higher education situation before 
independence. 
 
The university has relatively more capacity as compared to its local partners 
therefore the local linkage is some what skewed. On the other hand the centres of 
excellence with which the university is linked have much more resources and 
capacity as compared to the University of Asmara. 1 For example, Eritrean Center for 
Organizational Excellence was established in October 2006 with the following 
objectives: i] To render different administrative training; ii] To give advice to 
institutions which helps them to give efficient services to their customers; and iii] To 
introduce necessary techniques to increase production. I strongly believe that this 
working paper offers some valuable alternatives for enabling institutions of higher 
learning in contributing to national development especially in developing countries 
and in due course we hope to be able to prove its validity. 
 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
3  
 
 
HIGHER EDUCATION IN ERITREA UNDER HAILE SELASSIE  
Asmara University originated from the efforts of the Comboni Sisters in Asmara.  
During the 1950s, the sisters were running the Santa Familia Secondary School and 
planned to upgrade it to university status. In 1958, following consultations with the 
University of Bologna, Italy, they founded the Santa Familia University on a small 
site adjacent to their school.  Italian was the medium of instruction.  The university 
was recognized by the then-government of Eritrea.  The university was small and 
poorly-equipped but the Comboni Sisters notably two dynamic members of the 
order, Sister Maria-Nora and Sister Fosca were determined to build a substantial 
institution.  In 1960, the Superior Council of the Institute of Italian Universities 
recognized the university. The university  was  created  and maintained  in  the  face  
of determined opposition  from sections of  the  Ethiopian government, and during  
the  rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam was turned into another instrument to subvert 
Eritrean nationalist claims(Tekie, 2004; Rena, 2007).  
  
Following the abrogation of the Federation in 1962, the Comboni Sisters approached 
the Ministry of Education in Addis Ababa in an attempt to obtain recognition from the 
Ethiopian government.  The then Vice-Minister of Education, Dr. Mengesha 
Gebrehiwot, who was  a  Roman Catholic,  supported  them. 2  Dr. Mengesha  
proposed  that  the name be changed  to Asmara University,  and  that Haile  
Selassie  be  approached with  the  request  that  he  be Chancellor.   The Sisters 
agreed to both proposals.  Haile Selassie accepted the Chancellorship, but when he 
was asked to visit Asmara and confer degrees on the graduating students, the 
Ministry of Education objected. The Minister, Akelework Habte Wold, did not want the 
university or its degrees to be recognized.  He sent a clandestine mission to the 
University and reported that standards were inadequate.  The mission had neither 
examined students nor interviewed staff.  Meeting with  the  Emperor  and  officials  
from  the  University,  Akelework  insisted  that  a  second  assessment mission  be  
sent before any degrees be conferred by the Emperor.  Haile Selassie finally 
overruled his minister, and visited Asmara to award the degrees (Africa Watch, 
1993).  
  
Akelework  still  sent  his  delegation,  which  recommended  that  the  University  be  
downgraded  to  a  "junior college".    After  a  struggle,  in which  the  University  
defended  its  standards  by  reference  to  Italian  Universities,  this 
recommendation was also abandoned (Africa Watch, 1993; Rena, 2005b).  
  
The university then faced a struggle to expand from its small premises.  A large plot 
of land had been acquired and a four-story building, built around a courtyard, had 
been designed. The Sisters had obtained the finance.  However, it  emerged  that  a  
conspiracy  existed,  including  the  Ethiopian  Ministry  of  Education  and  members  
of  the  Italian community in Asmara 3, to prevent further construction of the 
building.  The Italian contractor had undertaken to build the full four stories, but had 
stopped after completing only one, claiming his contract was now fulfilled. Despite 
intimidation, the University lawyer, Kenazmach Gila Mikael Bahta, took the case to 
court and after having his initial case rejected by a corrupt judge won on appeal.  
The University was awarded Ethiopian Birr 900,000 for breach of contract, plus 
expenses, and the building was completed as planned (Africa Watch, 1993; Rena, 
2005c).  

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
4  
  
However, at the point of victory, internal politics in the Comboni order caused the 
election of a new Mother-General, a little-educated Sister who was averse to 
confrontation.  She refused to accept the damages, save the small sum of Ethiopian 
Birr 30,000, and removed Sister Maria-Nora (sent back to Italy and confined to her 
home) and Sister Fosca (sent to Bahrain). Thereafter,  the  Comboni  Sisters  proved  
content  to  pursue  far  more  modest  educational  aims. The teaching staff was 
reduced and the curriculum restricted.  An ambitious plan for the construction of a 
nine-story tower was cancelled.  Sisters Maria-Nora and Fosca had already obtained 
the money and building materials, and arranged for students and lecturers from the 
civil engineering faculty to build the tower as part of their practical education.  A 
crane was erected which still stands two decades later.  The new leadership sold the 
building materials and abandoned the project.  Following the revolution, the Order 
was happy to hand the university over to the government (Africa Watch, 1993; 
Rena, 2007).  
  
Perhaps the most successful measure by the Haile Selassie government to deny 
higher education to Eritreans was the introduction of a quota system for access to 
University.  The system was not exactly a quota, but a calibration of examination 
scores according to province of origin.  Students from provinces with poor 
educational endowment such as Gemo Gofa and Sidamo Chad to achieve lower 
marks to gain entrance to University compared to those with better schools such as 
Eritrea. What made this otherwise-acceptable scheme into a form of discrimination 
was that the threshold score for Eritrea was set higher than for other Ethiopian 
provinces, such as Shewa, which were given better educational resources (Rena, 
2006b).  
 
It observed that Eritrea had better educational facilities than Ethiopia before the 
Federation. The education was indeed developed during the period of British Military 
Administration (1941-52).  The educational system was under the Eritrean 
government, and thus independent of Addis Ababa. It used Arabic and Tigrinya (the 
language of the highlands, which is written in the indigenous Ge'ez script) up to 
grade four, and English thereafter.  A Publications Committee within the Department 
of Education, founded in 1953, developed its own Tigrinya textbooks and imported 
Arabic textbooks from Egypt (Rena, 2005b).  
  
During the period of the federation (1952-62), the Emperor Haile Selassie worked to 
undermine all Eritrean institutions that included the educational system.  In 1957, 
the Ethiopian Educational Attache in Asmara began to import Amharic textbooks and 
teachers from Ethiopia, under instructions from the Ministry of Education in Addis 
Ababa.  Amharic is the language of government in Ethiopia, though it is not spoken 
as a first language in Eritrea.  Amharic was taught  as  a  foreign  language  in  
Eritrean  schools,  and  the  Ethiopian  teachers  received  30 per cent  higher  pay  
than  their Eritrean counterparts, as a “hardship allowance”( Africa Watch, 1993; 
Rena, 2005c).  
  
Following  Haile  Selassie's  abrogation  of  the  federation  and  annexation  of  
Eritrea  in  1962,  the  policy  of Ethiopianization  intensified and all decisions 
pertaining to Eritrea were made in Addis Ababa. In 1963, the Publications Committee 
was abolished, and the Arabic and Tigrigna textbooks it had earlier commissioned or 
imported were destroyed by burning. Amharic  became  the  medium  of  instruction  

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
5  
throughout  the  educational  system  from  first  grade. The Amharic language also 
became a compulsory subject for admission to university in Eritrea (Teshome, 1974; 
Rena, 2005b).  
  
Keeping the oppression in mind, teachers and students started the Eritrean 
nationalist movement during period from 1957 to 1967.  The first strike occurred in 
1957 at the Haile Selassie Secondary School (now the Red Sea Secondary School-
Asmara). This school, run by the Federal Government and was the first place in 
which Amharic was made compulsory.  In response to the strike, 300 students were 
detained at Adi Quala prison for one month.  No sooner was this strike settled than 
discontent spread to the Prince Mekonnen Secondary School; frequent strikes 
occurred for a decade (Teshome, 1974; Rena, 2005b).  
  
In 1963, the teachers went on strike. The important reason was the pay differential 
between Eritrean and Ethiopian teachers, working under the same conditions since 
all teachers were employed by the same Ministry, in Addis Ababa, no administrative 
reasons could be adduced for maintaining the discrepancy.  The underlying reason 
was, however, unhappiness at  the  Ethiopian government's policies, and sympathies  
for  the  Eritrean  Liberation  Front (ELF),  which  had  just  started  a  guerrilla  war. 
The government threatened to dismiss the teachers, and brought replacement 
trainee teachers to take their place, but backed down when the strike spread to the 
student population. Although, it was very late, the pay issue was resolved in 1966 
(Africa Watch, 1993; Teshome, 1974; Rena, 2006d).  
   
Throughout this period, many teachers were active in the “Committee of Seven” 
(Mahber Showate)  movement, a clandestine nationalist organization, structured 
around seven-member cells. Many teachers were arrested and detained on account 
of alleged involvement in this movement; emergency powers assumed by the 
governor to combat banditry  allowed  him  to  detain  suspected  political  
opponents  for  three months  without  trial. A larger number of teachers were 
transferred to the interior part of Ethiopia, and replaced by Ethiopian teachers.  
  
In 1967, large-scale military confrontations began between the Ethiopian army and 
the forces of the ELF.  The expression of civil dissent through trade unions and 
schools effectively ceased.  Young nationalists directly joined the guerrillas; and 
especially after the declaration of a State of Emergency in 1970Cany sign of dissent 
in the schools was immediately identified with subversion and dealt with accordingly.   
The new governor, Ras Asrate Kassa, also took a more conciliatory line to teachers 
and students who showed no overt dissent.   Teachers and students thus became 
more cautious, and the beginning of a long period of 24 years of enforced self-
censorship began. In contrast to Addis Ababa, students in Eritrea played little part in 
the events of the revolution of 1974.  
 
EDUCATION IN ERITREA AFTER THE REVOLUTION  
In September and October 1974, there were hopes of a negotiated settlement to the 
Eritrean war.  Following the assassination  of  General  Aman  Andoum,  and  the  
killing  of  60  senior  officials  from  the  Emperor's  government  in November 1974, 
a committee of 38 respected Eritrean citizens was chosen by elders of the 
community in the hope of  helping  the new government settle the problem of Eritrea 
by negotiation.  However, the army also launched a severe crackdown in Eritrea.  
Many youths were killed by the security services, often by strangling with piano wire.  

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
6  
Reprisals were taken against most of the committee of 38, including several 
prominent educationalists.  During the following three years, there was a steadily 
increasing level of harassment and violence against educated Eritreans. This peaked 
in the Red Terror of 1977-78.  As elsewhere in Ethiopia, teachers and students were 
a particular target. Thousands were detained and many were executed (Adane, 
1992; Rena, 2006c). 
 
At the outbreak of the revolution in 1974, there had been 3,000 Eritrean teachers in 
Eritrean schools.  By the end of the decade, this number had fallen to about 1,200.   
As well as  those killed or  forced  from  the profession,  the policy  of  transferring  
Eritreans  to  Ethiopia  and  vice  versa  continued.  By 1980, more than 2,000 non-
Eritrean teachers including Indians were teaching in Eritrea (Rena, 2006e).  
  
It is found that the liberal reforms of the revolutionary government in some areas 
had little impact on education in Eritrea.  The literacy campaign, which used nine 
languages, including Tigrinya, might appear to have been intended to reverse the 
dominance of Amharic.  However, only adults benefited from the campaign, which 
was largely confined to the main towns.  Amharic remained compulsory in schools.  
(Incidentally, the literacy campaign neither recognized nor taught literacy in Arabic, 
one of the major languages used in Eritrea, and indeed in parts of Ethiopia, 
especially in centers of Moslem learning.)  
  
In the mid 1970s, private non-mission schools were nationalized throughout 
Ethiopia.  Mission schools remained unaffected except in Eritrea, where these schools 
were also nationalized, in 1982.  Standards plummeted, as the state did not have the 
resources to maintain the schools.  Class sizes doubled.  By 1988, of 832 students in 
the twelfth grade of the Comboni School (currently, the Barka School -Asmara), only 
three reached the required standard to progress to University. Thus, by the 1980s, 
the Eritrean educational system was totally under the heel of an Ethiopian 
administration committed to the forcible Ethiopianization of Eritrea.  Relatively little 
pressure was needed to maintain this state of affairs; those who opposed it fled to 
the hills to join the EPLF(Tekie, 2004; Rena, 2006b).  
  
Surveillance was constant in the educational system.  All teachers were obliged to 
attend weekly classes in Marxism-Leninism,  in which  their  adherence  to  the  
official  philosophy  could  be  scrutinized  and  assessed.  Official publications were 
read and funds were raised for political or military activities.  Teachers who wanted 
promotion, or who wanted civil rights such as easy access to travel permits, were 
usually obliged to join the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE), the single state party.  
  
EPLF Educational Policy  
The EPLF began its own educational programs in the mid 1970s, and expanded them 
during the 1980s.  Inside Eritrea, the physical conditions were extremely difficult.    
Along with all other aspects of life, the schools had to be concealed from the danger 
of air attack.    Schools were thus held underground or beneath camouflage, and 
evacuations to air raid shelters were frequent.  Basic equipment was also in very 
short supply, and there was a chronic problem of lack of qualified teachers.  
  
Following on from the policies of the ELF and the British Military Administration, 
Tigrinya and Arabic are the two national languages of Eritrea used by the EPLF.  
These two languages are taught compulsorily.  For the most part, however, primary 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
7  
education is in the native language of the community.   To date, primary curricula 
have also been developed  in  Tigre  (Ge'ez  script),  and  Kunama,  Saho  and  Afar  
(Latin  script).    Bilen,  and  Nara  curricula  are  developed. Hedareb speakers 
prefer to use Tigre or Arabic language(Rena, 2005b).  
  
Academic Freedom under the Dergue  
During  the Dergue regime (1974-91)  there  were  a  number  of  egregious  abuses  
against  academic freedom at Asmara University.  An early incident was the killing of 
Dr. Petros Habtemikael, an economist, in 1975.  Dr. Petros  taught  extension  
courses  in  the  evening,  and  some  of  his  students  were  Ethiopian  military  
officers,  who objected to his use of Eritrean rather than Ethiopian examples in his 
coursework, and to the low grades they were given.  It believed that the officers 
caused Dr. Petros to be detained and executed (Africa Watch, 1993).  
  
For the most part, the Dergue's policy was to undermine the autonomy of Asmara 
University and make it an instrument of its rule.  After coming under government 
control in 1977, Asmara University was placed directly under the supervision  of  the  
commission  for  Higher  Education unlike  Addis  Ababa  University,  which  retained  
a  degree  of  autonomy.   Amharic became the language of administration.   The 
University was starved of resources, which were preferentially targeted to Addis 
Ababa University.  For example, a grant from the United Nations Development 
Program (UNDP)  for  the  Faculty  of  Science  was  held  up  while  the  Commission  
for  Higher  Education  tried,  ultimately unsuccessfully,  to  have  it  diverted  to  
Addis  Ababa.    In  1982,  after  the  question  of  the  nine-story  building  for  the 
University had been revived, the government directed that the university should 
instead take over existing secondary school premises in Asmara.  Mission schools 
were then confiscated.  This was an example of ostensibly assisting the University, 
but denying Eritrean students the opportunity to obtain the necessary education to 
attend it.  In the event, most of the confiscated schools were merely nationalized 
and only two became university premises. 
  
It is important to note during the 1980s, a consistent policy was followed of 
preferring non-Eritrean teachers and students.  By 1990, 62 per cent of the staff 
were non-Eritreans, and 91 per cent of the students were from the interior part of 
Ethiopia.  The University was known as "Asmara University for the Northern Regions 
of Ethiopia."  
  
Asmara University was in effect controlled, not by the Senate and the academic staff, 
but by the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) and the security.  All the restrictions 
present in Addis Ababa University were amplified in Asmara.  The WPE  required  
that  a  member  be  present  at  all  discussions,  whether  they  be  academic  or  
staff-related;  it  also demanded  a  transcript  of  all  proceedings.  The  Students'  
Union  was  part  of  the  Revolutionary  Ethiopian  Youth Association, and  thus a 
branch of the government/party apparatus.  Cadres sat in on all classes and reported 
on the ideological correctness of both staff and students.   An absurd extreme was 
reported in which a biology student was criticized by a cadre for giving a 
presentation to her classmates on the subject of photosynthesis in plants, in which 
she failed to demonstrate the relevance of the dialectical materialist approach to the 
subject. This led to a claustrophobic atmosphere that effectively precluded all free 
debate, and forced all students and staff to exercise strict self-censorship. It also 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
8  
allowed the University President and other influential people to exercise blatant 
favoritism and nepotism in the award of scholarships and promotions.  
  
Open dissent was almost unknown at the University.  A rare example occurred in 
1985, when the staff demanded extra payment for teaching extension classes in the 
evening in line with their colleagues in Addis Ababa.  Two staff members were briefly 
detained and many others given a formal warning. It was necessary to read Asmara 
University publications and debates with a care and attention to have an independent 
thinking.     
  
The culmination of the assault on the University occurred in July 1990, when the 
decision was announced to transfer it to the internal part of Ethiopia. Ostensibly 
because of the intensification of the war following EPLF advances, there are 
indications that the decision to relocate the University was in fact taken some 
months earlier.  The Minister of Education  and  other  officials  from  Addis  Ababa  
flew  to  Asmara  to  discuss  the  proposed move with  the  staff. It was obvious that 
the Eritrean staff opposed the move almost unanimously, the Ethiopian staff 
remained silent. Only two voices were raised in support of the proposal. 
Nevertheless, the university was moved. All the textbooks, laboratory equipment, 
computers  and  office  equipment  were  moved,  apart  from  some  items  hidden  
by  Eritrean  staff members. Social sciences, agriculture and languages were moved 
to a former peasant training center at Agarfa, in Bale in the far south of Ethiopia.   
Conditions there, for both living and teaching, were very poor.   The other faculties 
were moved to Addis Ababa, where facilities were shared with Addis Ababa 
University.  Teaching took place in the afternoon and evening.  The staff of Addis 
Ababa University resented the additional burden on their resources and granted little 
cooperation. This state of affairs lasted for just over one semester, after which the 
students were required for military service, and the university was closed (Rena, 
2007).  
  
RICE, HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE EPLF  
Eritrean academics and other professionals were unable to practice their profession 
at home, thus most of them opted for exile.  While many worked and published 
purely as individuals, some contributed their skills to the Research and Information 
Center on Eritrea (RICE). RICE was set up in Rome in 1979 and quickly grew to have 
chapters in five European countries, plus Canada and the USA.  Though formally 
independent, it was closely linked with the aims of the EPLF. It published the journal 
Eritrea Information as well as research bulletins, and held conferences and seminars. 
Besides, the RICE operated as a loose federation of self-governing chapters, held 
together by a common commitment to the cause of the EPLF.  In 1988, the 
headquarters of RICE, including its principal Documentation Center, was transferred 
to the EPLF-held areas of Eritrea.  However, the European and American chapters of 
RICE continued to function in their accustomed heterogeneous style.  At its re- 
founding congress, RICE included an article on academic freedom in its constitution 
(Government of Eritrea, 2003).  
   
Following the defeat of the Ethiopian army in May 1991, the Provisional Government 
of Eritrea, run by the EPLF, for the first time confronted with the need for a 
systematic policy on higher education.   The results have been generally 
encouraging, though some worries persist.    Asmara University is to be 
reestablished as an Eritrean institution.  It is to be given a charter which will make it 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
9  
independent and self-governing.  Its major problem is lack of resources not all the 
resources transferred to Ethiopia in 1990 have been recovered, and even these 
would be grossly incommensurate with the needs.  
  
The shadow that remained of Asmara University has been reorganized under a new 
President, Andeberhan Wolde Giorgis.  Staff has been brought from the EPLF and 
from abroad, including Sudan.  A social and political distance exists between staff 
who remained in Asmara during the Dergue's rule and those who were "in the field" 
or abroad, and this has led to some instances of mutual distrust.  While there is no 
overt manipulation of appointments, still less an attack on Eritrean academics, it is 
likely that the new academic order will see rewards going to those who served the 
EPLF  loyally during "the struggle," and that academics who are overtly critical of  
the EPLF's record or  its policies will find themselves marginalized (Africa 
watch,1993; Rena,2006e).  
 
Asmara  University,  as  the  only prominent  institution  of  higher  education  in  
Eritrea,  has  shown  a  tendency  for centralization.  RICE  has  been  brought  
under  the  Institute  for  Research  and  Development  Studies,  an  autonomous 
institute within the   University.  No facility has been made for any form of 
association with the institute, so that the RICE Chapters abroad have been 
disbanded. Whether  from  over-zealous administrative  tidiness  or  from  a  desire  
to establish centralized control over higher education,  this move would appear  to  
threaten one of  the most  important Eritrean academic institutions.  Many Eritrean 
academics will be unable or unwilling to abandon their careers abroad to  return  
home  permanently,  and  this move  denies  them  the  opportunity  for  a  looser  
association  with  academic pursuits  at  home.    As well  as  denying  Eritrea  the  
services  of many  of  its  academics,  this move  also  threatens  the  
academic freedom of the Eritrean diaspora.  The internationalism of Eritrean studies 
is not redundant.  
 
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND CURRENT CHALLENGES OF UNIVERSITY OF 
ASMARA 
Eritrea faces a serious shortage of skilled manpower in many fields of society. As the 
only university-level institute of higher education in the country, the importance and 
the  role of the University of Asmara in supplying the needed skilled manpower is 
noteworthy for about 15 years. When Eritrea reopened the university in 1991, new 
plans were drawn up for the future. Three   guiding principles are being implemented 
in this rebuilding process: 
• relevance to society’s needs 
• the quality of the educational system, and 
• sustainability 
Aspirations and perspectives of the UoA are to develop into a regional centre of 
excellence but first and foremost to be an institute that serves ‘national needs’. To 
this end the “internal linkages” – within Eritrea with relevant societal partners – have 
been established to ensure the relevance of the curricula provided by the university. 
The external linkages (with international donor organisations and well reputed 
universities) are created to safeguard the high quality and international standards of 
the various programmes. The third guiding principle for rebuilding the UoA, as 
described above, is sustainability. 
 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
10  
The University of Asmara has developed its own strategy for cooperation with 
international donors. According to their 'linkage model', the UoA prefers to limit the 
number of donors which support a faculty or unit, to a minimum. This focused 
approach does not mean that donors will be operating in isolation, because the 
general parameters of institutional development have been clearly defined and have 
been incorporated in the priorities of the individual faculties or service units. 
Coordination at institutional level is present to ensure that donor support contributes 
to the overall institutional development of UoA. To this end, an International Projects 
Coordinator was appointed at the central level of the university. In addition, a 
number of review meetings have been organised since 1997 to assess the 
achievements of individual projects (supported by several different donors) within 
the framework of the overall institution building process of the UoA. These Project 
Coordination Committee (PCC) meetings have been held in Asmara and all donors 
and implementing institutes of the specific projects are invited to attend. During 
more recent years, however, they have tended to fall away (Rena, 2007). 
 
The focus of the University of Asmara (UoA) till recently was on undergraduate 
studies. Through funds abstained from the government and bilateral cooperation 
agreements, the University consolidated and expanded its undergraduate 
programmes. The UoA has about 260 faculty members with about 120 PhD holders, 
over 50 of whom are nationals teaching in 43  departments. The qualitative and 
quantitative changes in the UoA have resulted in a noticeable upgrading of the 
trained workforce in the country. Since 1992, the UoA   has supplied a workforce 
about 9000 graduates, of whom more than half are graduates at the Bachelor’s level. 
The University remains committed to producing medium and high-level manpower 
that share the supreme ideal of working in a spirit of commitment, understanding, 
and cooperation towards the common purpose of better serving the nation.  
 
Having built its capacity thus, the UoA established the School of Graduate Studies in 
July 2004, after two years of preparation, to administer the graduate programmes 
within various Colleges. This was done after preliminary needs assessment for 
graduate programmes made in 1995 (had indicated that there was a need for  up to 
1,000 persons trained at the Master’s level. The need for highly qualified workforce 
at the Master’s level at present is believed to be much higher: The School of 
Graduate Studies is headed  by a Dean, who is assisted by the Board of Graduate 
Studies constituted of 10 senior faculty.In September 2004, the School took its first 
intake of 35 students in six fields of study: Agronomy. Horticulture,. Applied Soil 
Science, Sustainable Livestock Production, Development Economics, and Organic 
Chemistry. Of these. 27 are graduated at the end  of 2005/06  academic year. In 
September 2005, was added to the existing fields. Their number is  10 in   the 
academic year 2006/2007. 
 
The considerable growth of UoA is however expected to continue over the next 
decade with the Masters and research programmes. With enrolment having more 
than quadrupled since the reopening, space has become a major constraint. The 
Asmara Multi-Campus Programme, one of the two components of the Cooperation for 
Asmara Multi-Campus and University System (CAMPUS) programme, will help to 
provide new teaching facilities. It envisages the creation of six colleges located at 
different regions of the country, they are:  
 
 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
11  
• Mendefera (College of Natural and Paramedical Sciences); 
• Asmara (Orotta School of Medicine); 
•  Asmara (College of Nursing and Health Technology); 
• Hamalmalo(Keren) (College of Agriculture Sciences); 
• Mai Nefhi (Eritrean Institute of Technology and Teacher Education); 
• Adi Queiyh  (College of Arts and Social Sciences); 
• Halhale (College of Business and Economics) and at 
• Hirgigo(Massawa) (College of Marine and Maritime Sciences). 
 
The construction of the Mendeferra College has already been started during the year 
2005-2006. This college is expected to have an intake capacity of around 2,500 
students. Construction is almost completed. Besides this physical expansion, the UoA 
is realigning its mission to include institutional research activities (Rena, 2006a). To 
further its new aspirations, UoA held an International Research Symposium in 
summer 2002 to evaluate the effectiveness of the research conducted so far, and to 
outline its strategy to become a research centre in the future. Cooperation with 
partners in the South is also being emphasised. Strong ties are currently being 
developed with universities in South Africa, through the Human Resources 
Development Project (HRDP). Plans are also underway to develop joint MSc 
programmes, covering various fields like Economics, Chemistry with some of these 
South African partner universities. For the first time in the year 2006, the University 
of Asmara has produced 49 Master Degree holders. However, the uncertainty 
resulting from the border war with Ethiopia has had a negative, or certainly a 
constraining, effect on many of the university’s development aims. 
 
Conclusion 
Lack trained manpower is one of the major hindrances  to rapid socio-economic 
transformation of Eritrea. The Government of the State of Eritrea exerted efforts to 
develop the human resources through  hinger education  and thus thus improve the 
backward economy of the country into an advanced one. As stated earlier, the higher 
education has suffered many folds during different periods. Even after sixteen years 
of its independence, the country could not achieve its desired goals in developing the 
quality higher education. Yet it is mostly depending on Indian expatriate teaching 
faculty at higher level of learning.  
 
Notes 
 
1 Asmara University has been closed by September 2006. All the existing staff and students 
are assimilated with that of newly established Eritrea Institute of Technology and other related 
colleges. It assumed that the university will start again with post-graduate and research 
programmes in the country.  
 
2 As stated in Africa Watch (1993) Vol. 5, No. 1; (12 January) that Dr. Mengesha was 
imprisoned by the Dergue  in 1985 on suspicion of anti-government activities.  He was tortured 
and had his leg amputated, after which he "disappeared" from prison.  
   
3 Some members of the Italian community in Asmara have historically been hostile to 
Eritreans obtaining an education, fearing that Italians would lose their privileged position in 
the city.  
 
 
 

Rena, Ravinder  (2007) “Challenges For Higher Education In Eritrea  In The Post-Independent Period To The Present– A C ase of 
Asmara University”, Argentine: Working Paper No.14,  pp.1-13 Published (on 2 August 2007) by the Argentine Center of 
International Studies.   
 
 
 
12  
 
 
 
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