The graduates of Haramaya University (HU) said that the exit exam, which was organized for the first time at a national level, made them test their skills and knowledge.

The graduates of Haramaya University (HU) said that the exit exam, which was organized for the first time at a national level, made them test their skills and knowledge.

Of the graduates who stayed with The Ethiopian Herald, Betelhem Hailye, a first-degree graduate student with a grade of 3.97 in Accounting and Finance, said, “I will work to bring about a better change by serving the public honestly in the profession I have studied in the country.”

She said: “I am committed to use the knowledge I have acquired to address problems the country has been experiencing as resolving financial issues is essential for the growth, stability, and unity of our country. Apart from the knowledge I acquired during my compass stay, the exit exam has enabled me to test my competency.”

According to Abush AbaYe, who scored 3.98 and graduated with a very great distinction, the exit exam from the outset caused a lot of fear and anxiety among students since it is new and given for the first time. Nevertheless, most of the students were able to pass the exit exam with a series of model and mock tests, counseling, and psychological preparation given to us by the university and our instructors.

“Besides, the exit exam helped us to rigorously review the lessons we have learned during our 4 year stay. It also helped us study not only for the exit exam but also to have enough knowledge, and this helps me to be competent, and self-confident in my future life,” he added.

Melkamu Sisay, a graduate of the Geography Information System (GIS) department, said he was happy to graduate with good results after a lot of hard work and effort. Especially, this year’s first exit exam preparation made him learn and ask a lot, and work together with his friends.

In the future, the Ministry of Education needs to provide adequate preparation time, common modules, and questions that assess students’ cognitive abilities as this will help achieve the objectives of exit exams, he explained.

Another graduate student, Samuel Arrarsa, underlined that although the exit exam was crucial for students to be competent citizens, it had given them hard time as it is overlapped with BA thesis and semester exams, which has potentially put some students under pressure.

HU has trained more than 122,000 students over the past 71 years and graduated with different skills that contributed a great deal to the effort geared towards producing competent citizenry. According to the information obtained from the university, 80 percent of HU students passed this year’s national exit exam.