Educational Heritage Project

Ethiopia

Page history last edited by Allison Runchey 1 yr ago

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National Overview: Ethiopia
School Structure
Culture of the Classroom
Access to Education
Progress
Sources

National Overview: Ethiopia

Capital -- Addis Ababa

Population -- 74,777,981 in 2006

Major Languages-- The two languages most spoken in Ethiopia are: Amharic and Oromo. Amharic is a semitic language spoken mostly in North Central Ethiopia and it uses a writing system called Fidel which was adapted from the script of the ancient and now extinct language called Ge’ez. Oromo is an Afro-Asiatic language which uses a modified Latin Alphabet called Qubee adopted in 1991. Most texts in the Oromo language were only recently written (between the years 1991 and 1997) because in the past the government of Haile Selassie banned writing the Oromo language in any script. Tingrinya and Somali are also used.

Major Religions -- Christianity and Islam

Type of Government -- Federal Republic

Main Exports -- coffee, hides, oilseeds, beeswax, sugarcane

Definition of Literacy -- age 15 and over can read and write

Literacy Rate -- total population: 42.7%, male: 50.3%, female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

Overview of Education -- Ethiopia, a third-world nation located in eastern Africa, has experienced some of the worst cases of poverty on the continent. A society largely dependent on agriculture; it has undergone several famines as a result of many droughts which have hindered the growth of crops. This case of acute poverty has made it difficult for the country to develop and maintain a good educational system. Until the mid-1970s, the illiteracy rate of Ethiopia was among the highest in the world. Furthermore, as a result of the poor living conditions and education systems in many parts of the country, much of the population has begun to migrate to more prosperous countries such as the United States.

Education in Ethiopia has evolved from a tribal to a Christian/Muslim run system, to the more secular institutions in place today. This new

system, though still in the developing stages, has received great support both from the government and its people, who see it as an

opportunity to advance as a society in a variety of areas including: economics, gender equality and civil rest.

Occupational Distribution -- agriculture: 80%, industry: 8%services: 12% (1985)

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School Structure

Primary School (compulsory) --

Length: 8 years

Age level: 6-14

General Secondary School --

Length: 2 years

Age level: 14-16

Preparatory Secondary School --

Length: 2 years

Age level: 16-18

Technical School and Junior College --

Age level: 16-19

Post-Secondary Opportunities -- Most Ethiopian students would like to pursue higher education, but it’s a highly selective process and the vast majority do not even get to secondary school. Only about 10-15% of those who complete high school are admitted into institutions of higher education each year. Higher education is provided by universities, colleges and specialized institutions including:

Addis Ababa University (1950)
Addis Ababa College of Commerce (1979)
Alemaya University of Agriculture (1954)
Ambo College of Agriculture (1979)
Arba Minch Water Technology Institute (1986)

Pupil to teacher ratio -- In rural areas, student-teacher ratios often exceed 100:1 and classes can reach a size of 200+ students, jammed into small, sometimes unsanitary spaces.

Teacher qualifications -- Ethiopian teachers are very dedicated, but lack training and support.

Method of instruction and subjects/curriculum -- Generally, teachers use a lecture method.

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Culture of the Classroom

Physical environment -- The classrooms themselves, at least in rural areas, are constructed of sticks and mud with little light or ventilation and they are sheltered by metal roofing with produces high heat in sunshine and deafening noise in the rain. Many classrooms are without access to latrines or potable water. Basic furniture, such as desks and chairs and materials such as textbooks are rare luxuries. Shcools are located several miles from the child's home, a distance which most children must walk at the beginning and end of each day.

Culture of classroom including discipline -- Teachers are the authority figures. New legislation says that corporeal punishment is illegal,

but it is still widely used in schools, particularly in rural schools.

Gender roles in classroom -- Though the gender disparity in schools is decreasing, there still exists a rather rigid gender hierarchy which

allows for less opportunity for girls. Statistics show that girls have lower enrollment and higher illiteracy rate nationwide.

Parent involvement/parent role in education: Most parents and teachers seem to want to implement equal education. Impressively, parents, even poor, illiterate ones, are highly involved in the education of their children. They want their children to be educated and they work to support schools, including helping out around the school— building desks, fences, etc. Though education is important in Ethiopian families, immediate families must come first. Furthermore, if the farm needs labor or a father or mother is sick, children must be pulled from school.

Accommodation for those with special needs:

There are a few schools in the country that provide education for people with special needs. For example, there are schools for the mentally disabled and for the deaf. However, students who are physically disabled i.e. crippled by polio, attend regular schools. Though ramps and other supports are largely no existent these children are well-assisted by other students. Unfortunately, most children with disabilities in Ethiopia are kept from school as parents find little point in seeking education for them.

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Access to Education

Socio-political influences: Generally, education is supported by most in Ethiopian society. However, in the struggle to sustain a family and to maintain a steady income, families are often unable to invest greatly in their children’s education. In rural areas for example, parents often have to pull their children out of school during harvest season in order to gain extra hands in gathering crops. Furthermore, because money is often scarce, kids are forced to undertake menial jobs such as shoe-shining to pay for books, transportation and other necessary costs of education.

Politics has also played a part in education. Since the shift of Ethiopia to a Federal System of government in the 1993 schools are now following a new education system which allows schools in different regions to conduct lessons in the language spoken by the people in those regions. Prior to the Federal System all schools throughout the country were required to teach in Amharic. Also, curriculum texts are made by the educational bureaus of the different regions which ensure the appropriateness of the curricula to the many different cultures in Ethiopia.

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Progress

Along with other aspects of the government, the educational system in Ethiopia has become increasingly decentralized, making regional education bureaus more responsible for the way their schools operate. This initiative has created a greater interest in the teaching profession and has encouraged increasing participation from teachers in in-service meetings and conferences. The Basic Education System Overhaul (BESO I) project for example, has brought together clusters of teachers from two to eight schools to meet on a regular basis. This time is used to discuss such topics as classroom management, leadership styles, gender disparity, learner-centered teaching, and assessment techniques. As a result of these initiatives, school participation has increased, school directors are implementing more improvement strategies, and teachers are more sensitive to the needs of their students.

According to the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington D.C., enrollment in Ethiopian schools has increased from about 2.5 million to 4.9 million. Also, the number of elementary school pupils has risen from 1.8 million to 4 million and the number of secondary pupils from 700,000 to nearly 900,000.

The non-profit organization World Learning (WLID) has been involved in several iniatives to improve learning conditions in Ethiopia, especially in rural areas. Their approach is community oriented, providing school-funding to villages only after the village as a whole identifies its school’s greatest needs and formulates a plan to fulfill these needs. Then, a $300 grant is allocated by WLID to aid in this community effort, this typically results in the construction of a new classroom, latrine or furniture.

Local contributions to progress have taken the following forms: cash, earned by students and teachers planting crops on school land to be sold in a market; in-kind donations, including building materials and livestock for sale; and community projects in which everyone may turn out to raise a building frame of eucalyptus poles or to plaster walls with a mixture of mud, dung and straw.

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