Pay and Performance in Ethiopian Higher Education: Implications Towards Staff Motivation And Engagement

Abstract

The allocation of rewards for faculty members in universities has been of much interest to organizational scholars. Though faculty members play a pivotal role in the execution of higher education strategy, the performance management system and pay structure still remains clouded in controversy among academics, popular writers and practitioners. Given the tripartite mandates of higher education, majority of the faculty members devote much of their time (75%) on teaching whereas the other 25% on research and community services as stipulated in the majority of university senate legislations in Ethiopian higher education. The objective of this study was to examine the link between performance and pay in the context of Ethiopian higher education. Based on the conceptual Model of Expectancy Theory of Motivation, review of secondary sources, lived experience of the researchers and experience gained from international universities, the study shows that there is a poor linkage between pay and performance in the higher education in Ethiopia resulting in low employee motivation and engagement. Moreover, the lack of marriage between pay and performance also contributed to the high exodus of top talent to other industries.  In addition, neither years of experience nor better performance were accounted to determine faculty pay. Finally, the study forwarded policy implications on performance management and pay scheme of Higher education in Ethiopia.

Keywords: Engagement, Higher Education, Motivation, Pay, Performance