Ethiopian Education Minister Sintayehu Woldemichael said Monday the government has paid due attention for the higher education sector as it plays a significant role for the socioeconomic development of the country.

While addressing a consultative meeting for the development of higher learning institutions, Sintayehu said over 36,500 students are currently enrolled in the undergraduate programs of higher learning institutions.

The government has set up plans to raise intake capacity of higher learning institutions to 112,000 over the next four years, he said, and added that the number of students enrolled to postgraduate programs would also reach 26,000 during the stated period.

Ethiopian higher education is undergoing a quiet transformation both in public and private domains. Until a few years ago, Ethiopia had only two public universities. There are now nine such universities.

A major campaign is currently underway to establish another 16 universities at a cost of about 2 billion U.S. dollars.

Source: Xinhua