Evaluating the Design of the Ethiopian TVET System in Light of Theoretical Principles of Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET)

International consensus on policy and research agendas and the need to increase the quality of education and training has heightened the importance of the competence-based education and training (CBET) approach. Adopting European experience (mainly the German model), Ethiopia has embraced the outcome-based approach in its TVET reform since 2008. Drawing on (integrating) the theoretical background on CBET and TVET, this research aimed to evaluate the design of the Ethiopian TVET system to identify the interventions and assumptions that underlie the design of the system and to evaluate it in light of the theoretical principles of CBET. Based on documents analysis, this research has identified various government interventions and assumptions under four elements: overarching/regulatory framework (qualifications framework, OS, management and financing, accreditation of TVET institutions/programs); curriculum design; organization of instruction-learning; and, external assessment and certification of competence. Based on evaluation of the design of the TVET system in light of certain theoretical principles of CBET, this study concludes that the Ethiopian TVET system is (on paper) outcome-based. Whether the interventions and assumptions underlying the design of the TVET system are actually being practiced and are delivering the promised results is yet to be evaluated through upcoming research. In this respect, this research paves the way for such subsequent studies. This study contributes to the literature through its innovative approach to the evaluation of a national TVET system by adapting the theoretical principles of CBET

Evaluating the Implementations of Competence-Based Assessment and Certification System in TVET: The Case of Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the implementations of assessment and certification in the Ethiopian TVET system based on review of government documents and a descriptive analysis of primary data. The primary data are obtained by administering questionnaires to 184 TVET heads and 547 students/trainees that are drawn from 40 public, private and NGO TVET institutions in Addis Ababa and by administering interviews to 10 key informants. It is found that assessment is being carried out based on regulations/guidelines and assessment tools in accredited assessment centers by accredited assessors. Implementation of the system has directed the effort of stakeholders towards enhancing learners’ competence and has influenced learning. As a result, the number of candidates who passed the assessment in Addis Ababa has increased from 14.3% in 2009/10 to 61.7% in 2015. Findings also point out that the implementation of assessment is to some extent in line with some of the principles (criteria) proposed in the theoretical literature.  Encouraging practices are observed in terms of linking assessment with the learning outcomes or competence requirements of work place (i.e., national standards) as well as the authenticity, cognitive complexity, directness, consistency, and transparency of assessment. However, quality of internal assessment is hampered due to gaps in institutional capacity especially among smaller TVET institutions. Furthermore, implementation of external assessment is being affected by challenges such as unethical conduct by some assessors; limited accessibility of assessment as a service; capacity (quality) gaps in terms of assessors, assessment tools, materials and machineries; longstanding (but declining) attitudinal problems disfavoring external assessment; weak linkage between the external assessment system and TVET institutions (i.e., delivery); and, possible adverse effects of competence as a single criteria for renewal of accreditation of TVET institutions/programs. Finally, this paper points out some mechanisms that may help address the implementation challenges of a competence-based assessment system in the Ethiopian context. Keywords: evaluation, competence-based education and training, assessment, certification, TVE

Availability of Adequately Iodized Salt at Household Level and Associated Factors in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, Iodine Deficiency Disorder has been recognized as a serious public health problem for the past six decades. In 2011, an estimated 12 million school-age children were living with inadequate iodine, and 66 million people were at risk of iodine deficiency. One out of every 1000 people is a cretin mentally handicapped, due to a congenital thyroid deficiency, and about 50000 prenatal deaths are occurring annually due to iodine deficiency disorders. Only 5.7% of the households were using iodized salt in Dire Dawa city Administration, which is below the legal requirement.This study assessed availability of adequately iodized salt at household level and associated factors in Dire Dawa town, East Ethiopia. Community based cross-sectional study was carried out among households in Dire Dawa town during March 16-26, 2015. Multistage sampling technique was used. Data were collected using a pretested and structured questionnaire by a face-to-face interview technique. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to check associations and control confounding. A total of 694 participants were participated. The availability of adequately iodized salt (≥15 parts per million) in the study area was 7.5% (95% CI; 5.6-9.5). Multivariate result showed that health information about iodized salt (AOR=8.96, 95% CI; 4.68-17.16) (p=0.03), good knowledge about iodized salt (AOR=9.23, 95% CI; 3.34-25.5) (p=0.01) and using packed salt (AOR=3.99, 95% CI; 1.48-10.73) (p=0.006) were associated with availability of adequately iodized salt at household level. Availability of adequately iodized salt at household level was very low. Hence, households should be sensitized about importance of iodized salt and its proper handling at the household level

Community based assessment on household management of waste and hygiene practices in Kersa Woreda, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Improper waste management may have health and environmental hazards. Studies showed the relationship of many diseases to improper waste management.Objective: This study aimed to assess the status of waste management and hygiene practices in Kersa Woreda, Eastern Ethiopia.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Kersa Demographic Surveillance and Health Research Centre (KDS-HRC) project site in April 2008. The study subjects were randomly selected 444 households. Data were collected through interview and observation.Results: The majority of the households, (66%) disposed solid wastes in open dumps and only 6.9% of the households had temporary storage means for solid waste. About 98.4 % of the respondents revealed that the responsibility of waste management is left for women and girls. Only 36.4% households had latrines and almost all were simple unsanitary traditional pits. From those households with latrine the habit of hand-washing after defecation was reported to be only about 5.1%. The habit of hand washing after defecation is significantly associated with the educational status of the respondents (

Grain Yield Based Cluster Analysis and Correlation of Agronomic Traits of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Genotypes in Ethiopia

The experiment was conducted in the western Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia in three locations and three growing seasons (a total of seven environments). The objective of the study was to assess the interrelation ship of the genotypes in their grain yield and other agronomic traits. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with a total and harvestable plot size of 14m2 and 10 m2 respectively. In the experiment a total of thirteen sesame genotypes were used and evaluated for the interrelation ship of their grain yield and other agronomic traits. Based on their grain yield the thirteen genotypes were grouped in to four clusters and the maximum genetic divergence (D2= 215.57) was observed between cluster-II and cluster-III. Grain yield had a  significant and positive correlation (P<0.01) with oil content (r = 0.79), number of branches (r = 0.7) and number of capsules (r =0.68). In contrast to this, yield was  negatively correlated  with days to maturity (r = -0.58 ) and days to flowering (r = -0.11). Exhaustive assessment of the association of grain yield and other agronomic traits is indispensably important for further breeding program and enhancing grain yield of sesame. Keywords: Cluster, Correlation, Genotype, Grain yiel

Preliminarily report on molecular diversity of Sargassum species in Oman Sea by using ISSR and RAPD markers

Sargassum (Sargassaceae, Fucales) is a common macroalgal genus occurring throughout the world, except in the polar regions. Sargassum species are one of economically important brown algae in south of Iran. In this study, molecular variations were assessed in three Sargassum species; Sargassum tenerrimum J. Agardh, Sargassumglaucescens J. Agardh and Sargassum ilicifolium C.Agardh, widely distributed species in the southwest of Iran (Oman Sea). RAPD and ISSR markers were used to assess genetic variation within populations of each 3 species. Four of 30 RAPD primers as well as six combination of RAPD primers which have been used which all produced reproducible bands with high polymorphism (>96%). All populations in 3 species showed unique alleles which made unique profiles for each population. Twelve ISSR markers including single and combined primers showed high polymorphism (>94%). Nei’s genetic diversity, Shannon index showed high values between populations while no variations were observed within populations (Hpop =0, 1-Hpop/Hsp =1) in both molecular markers studied. AMOVA test also confirmed lack of variation within them. Different clustering like UPGMA and Neighbor Joining separated populations of each species studied based on RAPD and ISSR data. This is the first study on evaluation of inter-population variation in some of Sargassum species in Iran

Evaluating the Implementations of Competence-Based Assessment and Certification System in TVET: The Case of Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the implementations of assessment and certification in the Ethiopian TVET system based on review of government documents and a descriptive analysis of primary data. The primary data are obtained by administering questionnaires to 184 TVET heads and 547 students/trainees that are drawn from 40 public, private and NGO TVET institutions in Addis Ababa and by administering interviews to 10 key informants. It is found that assessment is being carried out based on regulations/guidelines and assessment tools in accredited assessment centers by accredited assessors. Implementation of the system has directed the effort of stakeholders towards enhancing learners’ competence and has influenced learning. As a result, the number of candidates who passed the assessment in Addis Ababa has increased from 14.3% in 2009/10 to 61.7% in 2015. Findings also point out that the implementation of assessment is to some extent in line with some of the principles (criteria) proposed in the theoretical literature.  Encouraging practices are observed in terms of linking assessment with the learning outcomes or competence requirements of work place (i.e., national standards) as well as the authenticity, cognitive complexity, directness, consistency, and transparency of assessment. However, quality of internal assessment is hampered due to gaps in institutional capacity especially among smaller TVET institutions. Furthermore, implementation of external assessment is being affected by challenges such as unethical conduct by some assessors; limited accessibility of assessment as a service; capacity (quality) gaps in terms of assessors, assessment tools, materials and machineries; longstanding (but declining) attitudinal problems disfavoring external assessment; weak linkage between the external assessment system and TVET institutions (i.e., delivery); and, possible adverse effects of competence as a single criteria for renewal of accreditation of TVET institutions/programs. Finally, this paper points out some mechanisms that may help address the implementation challenges of a competence-based assessment system in the Ethiopian context. Key words: evaluation, competence-based education and training, assessment, certification, TVE

Abstract Interpretation of Polymorphic Higher-Order Functions

This thesis describes several abstract interpretations of polymorphic functions. In all the interpretations, information about any instance of a polymorphic function is obtained from that of the smallest, thus avoiding the computation of the instance directly. This is useful in the case of recursive functions, because it avoids the expensive computation of finding fixed points of functionals corresponding to complex instances. We define an explicitly typed polymorphic language with the Hindley-Milner type system to illustrate our ideas, and provide two semantics of polymorphism that relate separate instances of any polymorphic function. The choice of which semantics to use depends on the particular program analysis we want to study. For studying strictness analysis and binding-time analysis, we introduce a semantics based on embedding-closure pairs. We see how the abstract function of the smallest instance of a polymorphic function is used in building an approximation to that of any instance. Furthermore, we extend the language to include lists, and describe both strictness analysis and binding-time analysis of lists. Thus, this work extends previous work by others, on analyses of polymorphic first-order functions and also of monomorphic higher-order functions, to polymorphic higher-order functions. In relating distinct instances of a polymorphic function, the approximate abstract function is expressed as the greatest lower bound of a set of functions. This may not be very cheap to compute. However, there are often ways of obtaining the same result by considering a smaller set of functions. Another issue concerns how close the approximations are to the exact values. In the first-order case, it is shown that the approximate values coincide with the exact values. In general this is not the case, but experimental results on strictness analysis indicate that good approximations are obtained. Embedding-projection pairs are used to provide a semantics that is convenient for termination analysis of polymorphic functions. We show that the abstract interpretation of an instance can be approximated by the least upper bound of a set of functions that are built from that of the smallest

La influencia de la heterogeneidad ambiental en la diversidad morfológica y genética de Circaea lutetiana (Onagraceae) en los bosques hircanos

Environmental gradients are important factors that can potentially influence the genetic diversity and differentiation of populations. The present study examines the effect of environmental heterogeneity of the Hyrcanian forests on populations of Circaea lutetiana L. (Onagraceae). Using morphometrics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of leaf epidermis, and molecular markers, we analyzed genetic diversity and differentiation among nine populations from environmentally divergent habitats. Three different gene pools were observed. Our results indicate that the genetic structure is significantly correlated to environmental factors, but not to the geographical distance. Genetic clustering in C. lutetiana is affected by temperature, humidity, elevation, and average annual rainfall. Overall, our data indicate that gene flow does not contribute to explaining spatial patterns of genetic structure and the adaptation to the environment is the main factor shaping the genetic structure of the C. lutetiana populations. The populations belonging to each of the three gene pools have similarities in microclimate parameters, despite their geographical proximity, and populations from the same genetic pool can be up to 470 km apart. This evidence, as well as morphological and genetic similarities of the populations with greater geographical distance, suggest the possibility of cryptic speciation in this species.Los gradientes ambientales son factores importantes que pueden influir potencialmente en la diversidad genética y la diferenciación de las poblaciones. El presente estudio examina el efecto de la heterogeneidad ambiental de los bosques hircanos en las poblaciones de Circaea lutetiana L. (Onagraceae). Mediante un estudio morfométrico, microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM) de la epidermis foliar y marcadores moleculares, analizamos la diversidad genética y la diferenciación entre nueve poblaciones de hábitats ambientalmente divergentes. Se observaron tres grupos genéticos diferentes. Nuestros resultados indicaron que la estructura genética se correlacionó significativamente con los factores ambientales, pero no con la distancia geográfica. La agrupación genética en C. lutetiana se vio afectada por la temperatura, la humedad, la elevación y la precipitación media anual. Nuestros datos indican que el flujo de genes no contribuye a explicar los patrones espaciales de la estructura genética y que la adaptación al medio ambiente es el factor principal que da forma a la estructura genética de las poblaciones de C. lutetiana. Las poblaciones que pertenecen a cada uno de los tres grupos genéticos tienen similitudes en términos de parámetros de microclima, a pesar de su proximidad geográfica, y poblaciones del mismo grupo genético pueden estar separadas hasta por 470 km. Esta evidencia, así como las similitudes morfológicas y genéticas de las poblaciones con mayor separación geográica, sugieren la posibilidad de especiación críptica en esta especie

FPGA based secure and noiseless image transmission using LEA and optimized bilateral filter

In today’s world, the transmission of secured and noiseless image is a difficult task. Therefore, effective strategies are important to secure the data or secret image from the attackers. Besides, denoising approaches are important to obtain noise-free images. For this, an effective crypto-steganography method based on Lightweight Encryption Algorithm (LEA) and Modified Least Significant Bit (MLSB) method for secured transmission is proposed. Moreover, a bilateral filter-based Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is used for image denoising. Before image transmission, the secret image is encrypted by the LEA algorithm and embedded into the cover image using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and MLSB technique. After the image transmission, the extraction process is performed to recover the secret image. Finally, a bilateral filter-WOA is used to remove the noise from the secret image. The Verilog code for the proposed model is designed and simulated in Xilinx software. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed filtering technique has superior performance than conventional bilateral filter and Gaussian filter in terms of Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM)