Society Tech Meets Tenacity
September 21, 2024
An App fuels top scorers, turns preparation into triumph
Over the past two years, the dismal performance of students in Ethiopia’s national entrance exams has caused widespread concern. The results of the Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Exam (EHEE) paint a bleak picture: in the 2023/24 academic year, only 5.4 percent of the 684,205 twelfth graders who took the exam managed to pass and gain entry into university. While this is a slight improvement from the 3.2 percent pass rate of the previous two years, the situation remains alarming.
Education Minister Birhanu Nega (PhD) expressed grave concern over the performance of many schools, noting that out of the 1,363 secondary schools whose students sat for the Exam this year, not a single student passed. This year’s passing score was set at 29.76 percent.
Amid the widespread underperformance, a handful of top-scoring students have continued to excel, narrowly missing perfect scores. Some entrepreneurial students are also turning the educational crisis into an opportunity.
One such student is Aman Bereket, who took the national entrance exam eight years ago. He recognized that success in the exam was not solely based on reading textbooks but also on practicing questions from previous national exams. However, he found that many students lacked access to these past exam questions, a gap he sought to fill.
Five years ago, Aman developed an app called Ethio Matric.
“I collected national exam questions going back as far as eight years for each subject. I sourced them from former students, converted them into text, and uploaded them to the app. Each question includes answers and detailed explanations,” Aman explained.
The app allows students to practice past exam questions, providing immediate feedback on their answers. “The app is designed to help students prepare for their national entrance exams by allowing them to practice these questions directly on the platform,” Aman said.
What makes Ethio Matric particularly useful is its ability to organize exam questions by chapter and subject. After studying a particular chapter, Aman says students can find specific questions related to that chapter on the app. “They don’t need to complete an entire subject before testing their knowledge,” Aman added. For instance, after studying a calculus chapter, the app presents students with calculus-related questions.
The app also features an evaluation tool that helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses in each subject. Based on their answers, students can pinpoint which areas need improvement.
Ethio Matric, available for download on Google Play, is currently only available on Android. To date, over 390,000 users have downloaded the app, with a significant surge in popularity over the past few years.
“The app has gained a lot of recognition recently,” Aman noted. “Seven of this year’s top scorers in the national entrance exam used Ethio Matric.Students in the natural sciences especially have been using the app.In fact, almost all of the top-scoring students have been using the app.”
Aman proudly shared that, of the top-scoring students in last year’s entrance exam, both the first and third highest scorers were Ethio Matric users.
This year, all seven top scorers confirmed to various media outlets that they used the app to prepare. “In some schools, over 80 percent of the students now use Ethio Matric,” Aman said.
As Ethiopia continues to grapple with the challenges in its education system, innovative solutions like Ethio Matric are providing students with critical tools to improve their performance and make the most of their academic potential.
YonasNuguse, this year’s top scorer from Kellamino High School in Mekelle, Tigray, scored an impressive 675 out of 700 across seven subjects. Despite the region’s education system being severely disrupted by conflict in recent years, Yonas defied the odds, achieving a record high score. He credits Ethio Matric as a key resource in his preparation.
“Ethio Matric was one of the most useful apps I used while studying for the national exam,” Yonas shared. “The app provides past exam questions and organizes them step by step, aligned with a student’s progress through each chapter. After completing a chapter, I could take related exams. I also used other apps like Z Secret, which offers tutorial videos and reading materials.”
Another top scorer, Dani Jafer from Hayole High School in Hawassa, echoed Yonas’s sentiment. Dani achieved a score of 570 out of 600 and emphasized the role of Ethio Matric in his success.
“Each day, I study two units or chapters, and after finishing, I go to Ethio Matric to take the exams. I use the app to test how well I understand and retain the material. It’s an incredibly useful tool for students preparing for the national exam,” Dani said.
Sifen Teklu, the third top scorer from Auxilium Catholic School in Addis Ababa, also used Ethio Matric as part of her study routine. In addition to her studies, Sifen runs a YouTube channel called “Science Explained,” where she offers educational content.
“There are many practice exams on Ethio Matric. While preparing for the national exam, I focused on using the app, particularly for aptitude and other subjects. I didn’t rely on special books but practiced using the exams on the app,” Sifen explained.
Abel Mesfin, who scored 570 out of 600, placed fourth this year and similarly relied on Ethio Matric.
According to him, he used the app for every subject, taking the related questions after each chapter. “The app is excellent and the fee is also very affordable. It simulates the real national exam, complete with timed sections. Practicing the past pilot exams helped me prepare and score highly this year,” Abel said.
However, Aman is quick to point out that the students’ success is largely due to their own dedication.
“Their achievements are primarily a result of their hard work, not just the app. Ethio Matric can’t replace effort. If a student is committed, with the right tools, anyone can excel. The app simply enhances a student’s capacity, depending on how much effort they put in,” Aman explained.
Aman, who spends much of his time assisting students online, plans to add new features to the app in the future.
“Ethio Matric, I think, was the first paid app in Ethiopia in this field. We launched it five years ago. Each student who downloads the app registers their details, including their bank information, and receives a unique registration number. They transfer the 150 birr annual subscription fee, and we activate the app for them,” Aman said.
Although there are other educational apps available, Aman noted that most focus on video tutorials.
“Ethio Matric stands out because it directly helps students prepare for exams. While there are other apps, they tend to focus more on tutoring through videos,” he added.