Analysis of the Current Situation of Sana’a University

Abstract

Analysis of the Current Situation of Sana’a University

Abstract

The study aimed to answer the following question: What is the current state of the educational environment (Context, Inputs, Process and Product) at Sanaa University at the beginning of 2008? The analysis of the current situation of Sanaa University aims to determine the problems and potential gaps and then make recommendations to improve these components.

The paper uses (Context, Input, Process, Product) or CIPP as a way of analysis that are used to analyse educational environments. This tool is used to assess and evaluate the situation not to prove preconceptions of the researcher but to improve the educational environment (Nicholson, 1989). In this way, the objective of the study is to improve and develop the university education. This requires "the existence of a clear perception or model that is based on a comprehensive and integrated vision of the university education system as a whole since this system is composed of many elements and components" according to Guide of Developing the Study Programs at the Colleges of Sanaa University prepared in 2007.

To achieve these objectives, the study follows a data collection from both secondary and primary sources that are related to Sanaa University and higher education in Yemen. The researcher collected data that was meant to evaluate the English Language Skills for the English language students (in both regular and parallel programs). The study includes 1465 students from the first and second level  at the departments of English in the Faculties of Education, Arts, Languages at Sanaa University. The results show that the performance of the parallel students is less than the regular students; even after more than a year studying at the university (i.e. second level students in the parallel program) are less in performance or achievement than level one students in the regular program. The level of significance is 0.001 across the three groups. The results of this study shed light on the current situation of Sana’a University and the level of education in both streams or pogroms. This situation is supported by the results of another study related to satisfaction and views of 3 groups (students, teaching staff and administrators at Sanaa University. These groups are (1249) individuals. The views of these groups were to find out their satisfactions about the services provided by Sanaa University. The 3 groups were surveyed about the following themes: the educational materials at the university, teaching staff, library, administrative staff, admission and registration, students’ activities, and the mental image about the university. The results indicate that there is a sense of dissatisfaction of all categories (students, teaching staff and administrators) about services provided by the university. These results and the CIPP analysis show the current situation of Sana’a University. The study ends by offering some recommendations that contribute to improve and develop the quality of education at the university to enable the graduates keep pace with market requirements. If the quality of the university graduates, they will contribute to the development of Yemen and the university will maintain its place as a leading university in Yemen. This study responds to the need of university stakeholders to improve the level of the university to be at the level of the regional and international universities. The study preempts the attempt of the Ministry of Higher Education that is working hard to establish a national accreditation body