College of Education at Hawassa University conducted its 4th national conference on the theme, "Innovative Research for Inclusive, Quality and Equitable Education and Mental Health in Ethiopia", on April 21, 2026.
Dr. Samuel Assefa, Dean of the college, warmly welcomed participants from several universities to present their research findings for scharly discussion and representatives of Sidama Regional State education bureau representing relevant stakeholders in the sector.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Chirotaw Ayele, President of Hawassa university, commended the importance of having this conference on a very timely topic and mentioned the increasing challenges of social media platforms and changing academic ecosystem on education quality, mental health and integrity of the academia in particular, and the society at large. He called upon researchers in the area to do more so they come up with evidence-based solutions and recommendations for policy makers and educators to overcome the growing crises.
Two key note speeches were delivered at the commencement of the conference by Dr. Tafesse Matewos, Vice President for research and Collaboration at Hawassa university, and Prof. Yalew Endawoke, CEO of the Federal Civil Service Commission.
As a senior policy and development researcher, educator, and a leader of the research and innovation wing of Hawassa university, Dr. Tafesse Matewos focused on the essence of education and mental health in determining the national goals of development. He underlined how crucial it is for Ethiopia to improve education in terms of access, quality and relevance to alleviate the growing challenges of having a majority population without basic education in the Sub Saharan Africa.
As a senior researcher and educator in psychology and educational leadership, a policy maker and leader, Prof. Yalew Endawoke, focused his keynote address on the essence of mental health underlining that everyone is uniquely wired and deserves a system that is inclusive and equitable. He noted that education should be understood beyond the accumulation of information, and defined the role of education in building productive society with relatively healthy mindset as the cornerstone of ensuring sustainable development and building a peaceful and prosperous nation.
The conference brought together researchers, students, policy makers and educators from across different universities in Ethiopia where a total of 15 research papers were presented and discussed.
