Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to examine the practice of recruitment and selection of
teachers and to investigate the problems encountering the private colleges of Western
Amhara in relation to these activities. The study employed a descriptive survey method.
Ten out of the twenty one private colleges of Western Amhara served as a sample for the
study. Data was gathered from college teachers and academic deans. The colleges were
selected on the basis of simple random sampling and all the teachers of those sample
colleges taken as participants of the study. All the academic deans of the ten private
colleges were served as the source of information. Questionnaire and interview were the
main instruments used to collect data. The quantitative data were collected and analyzed
by using frequency and percentages and the qualitative data were analyzed qualitatively.
The major findings of the study revealed that the method of recruitment they used to get
applicants was personal contact with the employees, the selection tool the colleges used
to evaluate the candidates was employment interview. The commonly used criteria by the
colleges in order to select teachers were academic qualification and personal familiarity;
and some of the problems they encountered in the process of recruitment and selection
were shortcomings in being strict to follow policies, not following rules and steps of
selection process properly, and not using pre-determined and fixed criteria against which
the candidates were evaluated. Based on the findings· it is possible to conclude that the
colleges were using personal contact as the method of recruitment which consequently
does not give the colleges opportunity to attract reasonable number of potential
applicants. Since the colleges were not using all the steps of the selection process, the
qualities of teachers were not tested in a proper way. In addition, the recruitment and
selection activities were not free from favoritism. Based on this the researcher
recommended that the teachers should be selected on the basis of pre-set, clear and well
dejined criteria. The colleges have to employ diversified methods of recruitment to invite
applicants. Lastly, the members of the selection committee should get training on how to
conduct interview.
