How Local Apps Are Guiding Students Through Ethiopia’s Education Reform

Sweeping changes to Ethiopia’s higher education system have brought new pressures to students and opportunities for a new generation of tech entrepreneurs. Students confronting this fast-paced, evolving substructure are increasingly resorting to tailored digital tools for study, preparation, and assignments.

Hebron Mekonen, a 2^nd year student at Addis Ababa University (AAU), was still recovering from the pressure of her matriculation exams when she learned that the Undergraduate Admission Test (UAT), a two-year-old prerequisite for enrollment at the university, was just days away. She remembers that stretch as a blur of anxiety and frantic preparation. Some friends recommended that she try Zegiju, an EdTech app with a variety of study tools, to help her prepare for the exam. 

“I hammered through the practice questions on the platform,” Hebron told Shega.” They were very similar to the questions on the actual exam.” 

AAU, which became an autonomous university two years ago, is Ethiopia’s oldest and arguably its most prestigious higher learning facility. The policy pivot promised to enhance academic freedom, financial control, and education quality, but also ushered in a new layer of selectivity, including entrance exams unfamiliar to generations before.

Students determined to secure a spot on the storied 75-year-old campus dig up any tools they can find. For many, that begins with Zegiju, which roughly translates to ‘prepared’ in Amharic. It contains a variety of study tools for freshman students, UAT examinees, and prospective graduate students. The platform’s affordability is also a part of its appeal to cash-strapped students. Basic semester packages start at 150 Birr, with premium SAT modules priced at 750 Birr.

Brook Fantahun, Zegiju’s developer, is himself a recent computer science graduate from Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU). After graduation, he was desperately seeking a way to transform his degree into something entrepreneurial.

“Upon researching the EdTech ecosystem, we (his team) agreed that web app was the way to proceed,” Brook told Shega.

The response from the university community was immediate.In less than two years, more than 10,000 students have used Zegiju, including 1,600 paying for UAT-specific content. Zegiju’s appeal partly stems from its ability to translate complex academic language presented in English into easily digestible Amharic. This feature is particularly impactful in exams like the Graduate Admission Test (GAT) or UAT, which screen students based on their verbal, analytical, and math skills.

With both exams becoming a mandatory path to access higher education, Zegiju’s founders observed the opportunity to bridge the preparation gap by offering practice questions and exam simulations. 

“We initially started as an SAT tutoring platform, but due to a lack of research, we didn’t get the outcome we anticipated. Soon enough, we realized that the demand was right in front of us,” says Brook.” Students were struggling to navigate locally administered exams.”

Zegiju continuously polishes the practice questions and prep material through feedback from previous examinees, collaborations with experienced teachers and educators familiar with evolving academic standards.

“Most students who entered university after using our prep tools continue as users of freshman notes and packages,” Brook says.

Besides the web app, users can also access Zegju’s official Telegram channel, where they get free trial content and study materials. Students who speak other Ethiopian languages can also request explanations in their preferred language, making the platform more inclusive and accessible to learners from different backgrounds. 

While over 600,000 students sit to take matriculation exams annually, fewer than 5% have managed to earn a passing grade in the past few years. With autonomous universities being high among higher education reform priorities, as many as nine universities might begin conducting UAT exams in the coming few years. Despite the diminishing pool of students passing their 12th-grade examination, AAU alone receives thousands of applications annually. Even with the rising adoption of EdTech tools in Ethiopia, especially post-COVID, infrastructure, language, and equity issues have held back the pace.

More recently, another platform developed by a medical doctor has been making its rounds amongst master's students at AAU. GATstudy , developed by the 28-year-old Mubarek Mohammed, a self-taught programmer, has managed to enroll 5,000 prospective graduate students in five months. Available for 300 Birr annual payments, the platform provides tutorials and exam prep tools.

“I was preparing for the GAT myself and was in desperate need for tutorial apps that were solely focused on the exam,” Mubarek told Shega.

GAT exams have become progressively difficult for many students over the past few years, with around half of the 25,000 examinees earning a passing grade in 2023. The exam is administered seven times a year, granting apps like GATstudy a steady stream of users.

As Ethiopia embraces a digital education strategy, EdTech tools might increasingly have to respond to the immediate needs of students rather than offering blanket solutions. While usage of large language models and AI tools has become prevalent across college campuses, language, culture, and local curricula continue to limit their adaptability to Ethiopian students. Still, apps like Zegiju and GATstudy are but a small step in expanding affordable, inclusive EdTech solutions across Ethiopia’s higher education.