African university capacity

Delivered July 28th, 2019

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African University Capacity: Egypt

The Coordination Office of the Ministry of Higher Education is responsible for conducting the Thanaweya Amma exam, which is the required examination taken by secondary students seeking to get admissions to universities in Egypt. In 2018, 487,847 students passed the exam.
FINDINGSIn Egypt, admissions to university are based on the passing of the General Secondary Certificate Examination (Thanaweya Amma). Secondary school graduates are distributed among the public universities through the University Coordination Office of the Ministry of Higher Education, which applies specific rules that take into consideration the students’ grades, their choice for the type of discipline to study, the total number of secondary graduates. 
In 2018, 659,253 students took the Thanaweya Amma exams of which 74% (487,847) passed the exam. 
Almost 100% of the students who pass the Thanaweya Amma exam are admitted to higher education institutions. 
About a total of 2.8 million students are enrolled in universities in Egypt in 2017. 
RESEARCH STRATEGYWe were not able to provide information on the intake capacity of Egyptian universities due to limited information. First, we searched through the governing body for education in Egypt and the Coordination Office of the Ministry of Higher Education, which is responsible for admissions to Egyptian public universities. We attempted to find data on the total student capacity of the country for each academic year. Although we were able to find information on the number of students that took the country's university entrance examination, we were not able to locate the total allocated slots for universities in the country using this strategy.

Next, we combed through media sites such as EgyptIndependent, EgyptToday, DialyNewsEgypt, TheCairoScene, EgyptEducation, Allafrica.com etc, UniversityWorldNews, NileInternational, Copts United, Mena, among others for information regarding the student intake capacity for Egyptian universities. Although the sources provided helpful insights into the higher education landscape in Egypt, there was no information on the intake capacity of the country's universities. 

Then, we searched through third-party reports and publications regarding Egypt's educational system from sources such as PwC, European Commission's Egypt's overview of the higher education system, NacEgypt report, UNICEF, Gpseducation, Worldbank, USAID etc. After combing through these reports and publications, we couldn't find any information on the intake capacity of the country's universities, but we did discover that almost 100% of the students who pass the Thanaweya Amma exam are admitted to higher education institutions. 

Due to limited information, we were not able to provide information on the intake capacity of Egyptian universities. According to reports, only 74% of students that took the national university entrance (Thanaweya Amma) passed. To determine the exact number of student who passed, we carried out a calculation by multiplying the percentage of student that passed by the total number of students that took the exam.

Percentage of students that passed = 74% (0.74)
Number of students that wrote the exam = 659,253 
Total number of student that passed = 0.74 * 659,253 = 487,847

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African University Capacity: Part I

A total of 213,621 students passed the Ethiopian University Entrance Examination (EUEE) and the country's university intake capacity was 140,670 for the Ethiopian calendar year 2011 (Gregorian calendar year 2018).
FINDINGSStudents seeking to get admission to universities in Ethiopia must take the Ethiopian University Entrance Examination (EUEE), which is administered by the National Educational Assessment and Examination Agency (NEAEA).
In the Ethiopian calendar year 2011 (2018 in Gregorian calendar), a total of 284,566 students registered for the EUEE. 
Of the total students who took the exam, 213,621 students passed. 
The total Ethiopian university intake capacity in 2011 was 140,670. 
RESEARCH STRATEGYTo provide the requested information, we searched through the NEAEA website, which is the body responsible for conducting the national university entrance examination. In our research, we presented information for the Gregorian calendar year 2018 which is 2011 in the Ethiopian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar.

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African University Capacity: Part II

Out of the 615,773 candidates that sat for the Kenyan Certification Of Secondary Education examination, only 70,073 students passed and were eligible for admission to universities in Kenya.
FINDINGSThe Kenyan Certification Of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination is required for all students who wish to proceed to tertiary institutions to pursue degrees and the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is the body that is responsible for the selection of students for admission to higher learning institutions for Government sponsorship.
For the 2017 KSCE examination, only 70,073 students passed out of 615,773 candidates that sat for the exam.
There was a total of 90,000 available slot for admission into universities in Kenya in 2017, of which 74,000 slots were allocated to public universities. 

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African University Capacity: Part III

Students wanting to get entrance into universities in Nigeria are first required to take the JAMB-UTME examination. For the 2019 UTME examination, 1,283,259 candidates passed the 160 cut-off score, of which only 750,000 could be admitted to tertiary institutions.
FINDINGSThe Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is responsible for conducting admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. 
The body conducts the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which is a compulsory examination required for placement of qualified candidates into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. 
The 2019 cut-off score for admissions into universities in Nigeria is 160.
For the 2019 UTME examination, 1,283,259 candidates passed the examination.
In 2019, Nigerian universities have an intake capacity of 750,000.