KEA-MED College of Ethiopia celebrates its 20th anniversary as the Addis Ababa Campus held today graduation ceremony for its students trained in various streams in TVET, including undergraduate and master’s degree levels in public health, nursing, and other programs.
The college established 20 years ago, held a graduation ceremony for over 450 students today in Addis Ababa. KEA-MED College is the oldest private health professional’s college and has so far trained and supplied 18,681 graduates to the medical sector market since its establishment, according to the information given at the graduation ceremony.
The college has gained a reputation and received remarkable recognition for its quality of education and the recruitment of its students, said the president of the college, Mrs. Mahder Ziqu, at the ceremony. During the ceremony, Mahder mentioned that KEA-MED, besides its training endeavours, has ventured into alleviating the medical oxygen shortage that has been evident since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the president, the college has built two medical oxygen plants in Debre Birhan and Debre Markos cities, with an outlay of over 80 million birr. She also noted that it’s preparing to launch more than ten medical oxygen plants in various regional administrations of the country.
“Of the total number of graduates, women make up 86 percent of the number, and that clearly demonstrates the college’s contribution to empowering women, which largely lays the foundation for empowering families and national development. We are all proud of our roles in the slow realization of a much bigger national agenda,” said the president.
Mahider told the graduates, “Today is not just a day of happiness but one in which you take up a major responsibility ahead as well”. According to the president, 72 percent of the regular students in KEA-MED College have passed the first exit exam conducted by the Ministry of Education, adding that the result bears testament to the emphasis we put on quality education”.
Speaking On the exit exam, nationwide, it was merely a 17.2 percent average passing rate for private higher education institutions; however, the exit exam result of KEA-MED College makes the college passing rate outstanding, Mahider told the gathering at the ceremony.
Mekedes Terfe is among the students who graduated on Saturday from a nursing program. For her, amidst all the challenges she passed, this day is a special one that marks a lifetime achievement. “We were challenged by multitudes of problems, including the COVID pandemic and various new regulations by the Ministry of Education, like the previous exit exam, which just started this year; however, with the good support of the college, we have achieved at least one chapter of our lives.
The college has plans to open new campuses in Addis Ababa and start new undergraduate and master’s degree programs. It is currently under preparation to start a medical doctorate program next year.