Ethiopia: Education Country Brief

January 2024
Ethiopia Flag
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Background

This brief provides data and references to the literature on issues that matter for education in Ethiopia. It is part of a series that provides a brief introduction to the state of education systems in Africa. The work was prepared for country pages on IICBA’s website and a digital repository of resources at the country, sub-regional, and continental level. The brief series also informs work conducted in the context of (i) the European Union’s Africa Regional Teachers’ Initiative and (ii) the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) Africa 19 Hub for anglophone countries that promotes the use of evidence for policy making and benefits from funding from the Global Partnership for Education and Canada’s International Development Research Center. This brief and its associated webpage are meant to be updated as new information becomes available, at least on a yearly basis. 

Key resources: This brief provides the following resources: 

  • Educational outcomes: Estimates are provided for learning poverty (the share of 10-year-old children not able to read and understand a simple text), educational attainment and/or enrollment rates at various levels of education, the components of the human capital index, and human capital wealth as a share of national wealth. 
  • Selected literature: Links are provided to selected publications at the global, regional, and country levels with a focus on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems; (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning; (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. 
  • Country policies: Links are provided to key institutions (including Ministries) managing the education system, selected policy and planning documents, and websites that aim to provide comparative data on policies across countries.
  • Knowledge repositories and other resources: Links are provided to a dozen digital repositories that collate publications and resources on education issues in Africa. 
  • Data: Links are provided to data sources that can help inform education policy.

This country brief provides a brief introduction to selected issues and research relevant to Ethiopia’s education system and links to resources that may be useful to official of Ministries of Education and other education stakeholders. A special focus is placed on thematic areas from the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the Secretariat of the Africa KIX 19 Hub. Together with the associated webpages on UNESCO IICBA’s website, the brief is to be updated as new information becomes available, typically every year. The brief starts with a review of basic data on educational outcomes including learning poverty, educational attainment, and the human capital index. The focus then shifts to information related to the thematic areas of focus of the KIX Africa 19 Hub, namely: (i) learning assessment (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching & learning (iv) data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. The brief also includes links to country documents and processes as well as a range of other resources and websites.

Educational Outcomes and Human Capital

Ethiopia, like many other African countries is facing a learning crisis. Learning poverty, the share of children not able to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, is estimated by the World Bank, UNESCO, and other organizations at 90 percent (see Table 1 for selected statistics) This is in part because out-of-school children are unlikely to achieve reading proficiency. But it mostly results from the fact that 89 percent of children enrolled in primary school could be learning poor. It is imperative to improve the quality of the education provided in schools.

Schooling does not imply learning, but lack of learning increases the likelihood of dropping out of school. Learning poverty is one of the factors contributing to low educational attainment. According to the World Bank and UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS data), the primary school completion rate was at 69 percent in 2021 for boys and 65 percent for girls. The lower secondary completion rate is much lower, with girls likely to trail boys although recent data on completion and enrollment rates at the secondary level are not available from UIS (the latest data are for 2015). Low educational attainment especially for girls is due in part tom relatively high levels of child marriage and early childbearing. Gross enrollment in tertiary education was at 13 percent for men in 2018 versus 8 percent for women. 

Another useful statistic is the Human Capital Index for Ethiopia based on six variables: (i) the probability that a child will survive past age five (94 percent); (ii) the years of schooling that a child is expected to complete by age 18 (7.8 years); (iii) the level of learning that a child is expected to acquire (348 on a scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 the lowest attainment); (iv) the learning-adjusted years of schooling that a child is expected to complete, a measure combining the two previous measures (4.3 years); (v) the adult survival rate (79 percent of 15-year olds surviving until age 60); and finally (vi) the probability that a child will not be stunted in early childhood (63 percent). Based on those six variables, the expected productivity in adulthood of a child is estimated in comparison to full productivity that could be expected with full education and health. The estimate is that a child born in Ethiopia today will reach only 38 percent of its potential. This is lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa region but higher than the average for low-income countries.

One last statistic may help make the case for the importance of investing in education for the country’s development. A country’s wealth mainly consists of three types of capital: (1) Produced capital comes from  investments in assets such as factories, equipment, or infrastructure; (2) Natural capital consists of assets such as agricultural land and both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources; (3) Human capital is measured as the present value of the future earnings of the labor force, which in turn depends on the level of educational attainment of the labor force. The latest estimates from the World Bank suggest that human capital wealth in Ethiopia accounts for 69 percent of national wealth. 

Ethiopia table
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Selected Literature

Supporting countries in using evidence for policymaking is an objective shared by many organizations and initiatives. Under the KIX initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the KIX Africa 19 Hub and collaborates with KIX Africa 21, the focus is on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. For each topic, a link is provided to the GPE-KIX Discussion paper written at the start of the initiative in 2019 and additional publications that could be useful for policy. By necessity, to keep this brief short, only a few resources can be mentioned, but additional resources can be accessed through digital repositories listed below. A brief note on UNESCO IICBA research is also provided.

Learning Assessment Systems [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Learning assessment tools and systems are essential to gauge and improve learning outcomes for students. A primer on large scale assessments from the World Bank provides guidance on such assessments, as does a review of learning assessments in Africa from UNESCO IIEP. Among regional assessments, PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems) for francophone countries in West and Central Arica and SEACMEQ (Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) for anglophone countries in East and Southern Africa are the best known. These instruments target primary schools. Other tools that focus and assess the learning outcomes of young learners include the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA). Supported and funded primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), these assessments are administered by different agencies such as the World Bank, RTI International and others across the continent. The West African Examinations Council also provides guidance on examinations and certificate accreditation in Anglophone countries of West Africa.  Also interesting is PISA for development which is being piloted in secondary schools in a few African countries. 

Ethiopia does not participate in these international assessments, but national examinations are administered by the National Educational Assessment and Examination Agency in grades 4, 8, 10 and 12. Some of these national examinations determine which students can move from one level of education to the next. Among students who took the examination for grade 12 in October 2022, 3.3 percent scored high enough to be able to join public universities. Under its ANLAS initiative, GPE conducted a review of Ethiopia’s assessment systems.

Improving Teaching and Learning [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. How teachers and students interact and engage is key to improve learning outcomes. Cost-effective approaches pr ‘smart buys’ to improve learning in low-income countries are discussed in a World Bank report. Teaching is paramount, and therefore so are teacher policies to ensure that successful teachers make for successful students. Standards for the teaching profession were proposed by Education International and UNESCO with regional standards available from the Africa Union Commission, including a framework for standards and competencies. 

Ethiopia utilizes a 4-4-2-2-4 structure in its education system. With the first years eight years covering primary education, the next four years covering secondary education and the last four years covering tertiary education. In Ethiopia, a recent World Bank report provides insights on challenges for improving teaching and learning, with a second report focusing on the issues of skills for the labor market. Teacher career reforms have been assessed by UNESCO IIEP. Ethiopia also hosts a large refugee populations, with UNESCO IIEP, Education Development Trust, and UNICEF identifying promising practices and policies for primary school teachers. 

Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Experiences children undergo in early childhood can affect their entire life. Nurturing care is essential. Essential interventions in early childhood include pre-primary education.  Yet less than half of young children in Africa benefit from pre-primary education according to the Global Education Monitoring report 2021.  The Office of Research at UNICEF maintains a webpage with useful links to organizations working on child-related themes organized by subject, including early childhood. 

A 2023 UNESCO publication on Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Africa observes that access, relevance, and quality pose significant challenges for ECE in Ethiopia. Presently, more than six million children lack access to preschool education services, and those who do attend often experience a disconnect from their cultural and traditional roots according to authors of the report. In Ethiopia, a UNICEF report suggests the proportion is even lower especially outside of Addis Ababa. A new National Early Childhood Development and Education Policy Framework provides guidance on the holistic development of children. Basic data on early childhood development are available from a nurturing care profile. 

Achieving Gender Equality In and Through Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. The cost of gender inequality is massive, as is the cost of not educating girls, including in Africa. When girls lack education, this affects their earnings in adulthood, the number of children they will have and their health, as well as their agency, among others. When girls are not in school, they are also at higher risk of child marriage, with again high costs for them, their children, and society. In Africa, the African Union’s International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa supports member states on girls’ education. 

A 2022 UNICEF report on Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa estimates that 4 in 10 young women were first married or in union before the age of 18. 59% of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 had no education as compared to 25% who had at least a secondary education. In Ethiopia, the cost of child marriage is high with 4 million girls aged 7-14 being kept out of school. On social norms, a 2021 study Institute of Labor Economics found the exposure of more female learners benefited other female learners through less school absences and math test score improvements.

Data Management Systems Strengthening [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Education management information systems (EMIS) are key for management. They can also support evidence-based policymaking. In Africa, the African Union’s Institute of Education for Development supports member states on EMIS. In addition to EMIS data, other data sources including household surveys, school surveys, student assessments, and impact evaluations of pilot interventions are essential to inform policy. 

In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Education produces an annual statistical abstract based on EMIS data. Also available is a mapping of the production, processing, and use of data related to crisis responses preparedness and the review of Ethiopia’s assessment systems mentioned earlier as part of the ANLAS initiative. According to a joint 2020 UNESCO and Global Partnership for Education report, Ethiopia utilizes StatEduc 2.0 as its EMIS platform.

Equity and Inclusion/Leaving No One Behind [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Equity and inclusion are major challenges for education systems. Gender, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, poverty, displacement, and many other factors may all lead some children to lack access to education. In Africa especially, gaps in educational outcomes between groups may be large, as illustrated in the case of disability. Equity must be at the center of education policy on the continent. 

According to IIEP, in 1994, Ethiopia's Education and Training Policy (ETP) established clear guidelines for educational finance. The ETP, along with other documents, stated that students in grades 1-10 should be exempt from paying fees to reduce the financial burden on parents. Students in grades 11-12 and higher would be required to share the cost of schooling. In Ethiopia as well, there is a need to invest for inclusive education, as noted in the Ministry of Education’s Master Plan for Special Needs Education/Inclusive Education in Ethiopia 2016-2025. Another priority for Ethiopia is education for refugees, as noted in the Ethiopia refugee education strategy 2020-2025. Ethiopia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and ratified the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010.

Note on UNESCO IICBA Research. IICBA recently launched a new program of applied research on teacher and education issues in Africa. This includes studies, discussion papers, training guides, reports, knowledge briefs, data briefs, event summaries, and interviews. Several of those publications focus on Ethiopia. All publications are available on IICBA’s website. 

Country Policies 

Information on Ethiopia’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of Education which covers basic and higher education. Technical education and vocational training (TVET) are under the Ministry of Labor and Skills. The country’s Education Sector Development Programme covers the period from 2020/21 to 2024/25. The Ethiopian Education Development Roadmap (2018-30) further evaluates the performance and identifies gaps in the education system, considering access, equity, quality, relevance, and efficiency. For an earlier country policy roadmap on enhancing inclusion in classrooms see the 2012 Special Needs/Inclusive Education Strategy. A recent public expenditure review for education was completed by the World Bank. While some African countries have an independent Teacher Service Commission, Ethiopia does not.

A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including Ethiopia. UNESCO’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) covering the themes of the Global Education Monitoring reports, including: inclusion in education (2020 Report), non-state actors in education (2021/22 Report), technology in education (2023 Report) and leadership in education (2024/25 Report, forthcoming). PEER also covers additional topics on key SDG 4 issues, including financing for equity, climate change communication and education, and comprehensive sexuality education. Another example is the World Bank’s Education Policy Dashboard, for which Ethiopia is a pilot country.

Knowledge Repositories

Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for Ethiopia, Africa, and globally were provided earlier to keep the brief short, but repositories of digital resources facilitate access to the literature. A few of those repositories are listed below by alphabetical order:

Many organizations maintain websites that include country pages with useful information. Examples include the GPE Ethiopia Country Page; UNICEF Ethiopia Country Page; World Bank Ethiopia Country Page; UNESCO IIEP Country Page. Many organizations also maintain blogs on education issues, often with stories on Africa. Examples include Education for All (Global Partnership for Education), Education for Global Development (World Bank), Education Plus Development (Brookings Institutions), and World Education Blog (UNESCO). Beyond blogs focusing on education, blogs on Africa more generally may also provide useful resources. This includes Africa Can End Poverty and Nasikiliza (the World Bank’s two blogs for sub-Saharan Africa ) and  Arab Voices (the Bank’s blog for the Middle East and North Africa).

Data

It is often useful to download data for Ethiopia and other countries from multi-country databases. The largest database on development, including education data, is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). The World Bank also maintain the Education Statistics (EdStats) database. Both World Bank databases rely in part for education on data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO also maintains the Global Education Observatory and the World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE), as well as a wide range of other databases. Specific estimates are occasionally maintained by other agencies. For example, UNICEF provides data on out-of-school rates, adjusted net attendance rates, completion rates, foundational learning skills, information communication technology skills, youth and adult literacy rates, and school-age digital connectivity. Another useful reference is StatCompiler which provides data at various levels of aggregation from Demographic and Health Surveys across countries and over time, including Ethiopia. For comparison purposes, data from the OECD for member and partner countries (including South Africa) can be useful.

References

References are available through the links provided in this brief.