Practices and Challenges of Community Services at Debre Markos University, Ethiopia: A Case Study

Universities are the main actors that deliver community service in Ethiopia. Community service is among the three pillars of the university’s business along with teaching and research tasks. Employing a qualitative case study design, this research inspects the practices of community services against the ascribed principles and identifes the pitfalls of community service in Debre Markos University. Both primary and secondary data were collected. Primary data were collected through key informants interviews, semistructured interviews, and non-participant observation. Thirteen participants, five through key informant interview and eight through a semistructured interview were addressed. Participants were purposively selected from both the university and the nearby community. Lecturers, vice-presidents, and directors have participated in the interview. Articles, books, different reports, newspapers, and magazines were reviewed and used as sources of secondary data. Thematic data analysis technique was employed to analyze the primary data, and document analysis was used to analyze the data gained from secondary sources. The results show that, though community service is rendered since 2006 at Debre Markos University, there are still limitations in adhering to the principles of community service. These include shortage of budget, low level of University-Industry Linkage (UIL), less commitment of the staff, and the low level of monitoring and evaluation.