Academics' and institutional leaders' perception of transparency: lesson from Ethiopian public universities

This study explored academics' and institutional leaders' perception of transparency in decision-making in Ethiopian higher education institutions. Three universities were selected from the 31 public universities using a stratified sampling technique. The study employed a mixed-method exploratory research design. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test) were used to analyse the quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes and meanings within qualitative data. The findings of this study showed that the Ethiopian public universities have hierarchal (top-down) governance lacking in transparency in decision-making. Academics and institutional leaders called for greater transparency in the flow of information and decision-making for the academic community to accomplish their academic core activities effectively. Transparency is a key element of the university governance, and we argue that a lack of transparency at the university upper levels of the university will discourage transparency at lower levels. We recommend shift to more shared governance or consultative governance for mutual accommodation if the Ethiopian universities are to become transparent and optimise their contribution to national development.