CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Even though the history of education in Ethiopia dates as far back as the introduction of
Christianity in Ethiopia during Ezana in 3300A.D, the first attempt to open school of European
style was for the first time made by the Jesuit in the 16th century. This attempt was not continued
due to the outstanding of Jesuits following the removal of emperor Susinyos.
Toward the end of the 19th century, several factors accentuated the need for modern education.
The establishment of strong central government and permanent urban seats of modern
development of modern sector economy like manufacturing activities, establishment of foreign
embassies of Adwa, are, among others, the main factors that have contributed for the
development of modern education in Ethiopia. Modern education has started at the beginning of
the 20th century and officially commenced in 1908 with opening of Menelik 1st School in Addis
Ababa. (Ministry of education, 2004),
Ethiopian education in general has two systems of main sub-sectors that are institutionally
separate:-
1. formal educational sub-sector, which consist of academic and technical and training at
primary, secondary and tertiary level ; and
2. non-formal education which includes:-
Technical vocational skills trained and extensive contact for youth and adults.
Between 1962 and 1994 the general education in Ethiopia divided into three these are:-
-primary school (grade1-6)
-junior secondary school (grade7-8)
-senior secondary school (grade9-12)
Education reforms in 1994 revised the structure so that it now cons in 1994 revised the structure
and modify the previous system of education so after 1994 consists of primary education
(grade1-8) which also consists of first cycle (grade 1-4) which aims at achieving the functional
literacy and the second cycles (grade5-8) prepares students for further education, general
secondary education and training, and second cycles of the secondary education (grade11-12),
that prepares student for higher education.

Educational policies and strategies in Ethiopia.

1
 Attempts to formulate the education sector policies during imperial regime were limited to a
proclamation (1943 and 1948) which deals with the organization and duties and responsibilities
of the ministry of education and its duties. It was made to adapt the Ethiopian education to the
needs of the country and expands the coverage of the activities in the provision of special
training for the sector and education system. (Ministry of Education of Ethiopia, 2004),
Performance of education sector in the Ethiopia.
Education directly improves the productivity and rates of return and earnings of people. In
addition to this, education has or wide range of indirect effects, which instigate positive changes
in peoples attitudes toward work and society. It make easier to learn new skills throughout their
lives and hence facilitate their participation in modern economies and societies. It also important
factor which affects the health and life expectancy of individuals, because if equips them with
the knowledge and the means to present control and direct disease. (Ministry of Education of
Ethiopia,2004)
Education in Oromia Regional states
Regarding to Oromia regional states of Ethiopia, it is one of the regions in the country where
both formal and non-formal education do not reach the majority of the population. The school in
the regions are unevenly distributed and mostly physically and materially and deteriorated. This
deterioration is due to cultural and other constraints there is a higher dropout rate at the lower
lower level which mostly affects girls’ participation in the education of the region. (Finance and
Development Bureau of Oromia, 2005),
Education system of Oromia regional state normally consists of formal and non-formal
education.
Formal education comprises of primary, secondary educations, technical and vocational
educations. The data that recorded in 2005 in Oromia regional bureau of educations shows that,
two teachers training institute (TTI), four teachers training college (TTC), 38 technical and
vocational education training (TTET), of which 36 and 2 are government and non-government
centers respectively. Moreover, there are 164 secondary schools, and 4893 primary schools in the
Oromia regions. (Regional Education Bureau of Oromia, 2005),

Education in Aweday town

Aweday town is one of the towns of the Eastern Hararge Zone of Oromia which is located
between Harar town and Haramaya town. In this town there are for primary schools and among
this only one primary school is owned by public and the other three are private owned schools.
These four primary school are Dandi-Boru,

2
Statement of the problems

The number of school going children is increasing from year to year. Here is a need to provide
the educational facilities for them through opening of various types of educational institutions.
Because of different constraints like poverty, cultural factors majority of the population do not
send their children to school at distant place. The characteristics of education sector can be
expressed mainly in terms of accessibility, affordability, adequacy and quality. This factor can
affect school attainment through their effect on enrollment learning outcomes both directly and
indirectly through of their effects on school attendance. Private Tuitition and more generally the
learning enhancing behavior of children and their related home hold.
Accessibility to schools usually determine by distance from home to school for children. Female
student’s enrollment is negatively affected by cultural and gender related problems.

Objectives of the study.

The general objectives of this study are to be identifying the problems and prospects of education
in Ethiopia particularly in Aweday town. In addition to these general objectives there are other
specific objectives these are:-
1. To study the existing availability and capacity of various types of educational institutions and
number of admission seekers in Aweday town.
2. To identify the problems of available institutions and their causes and effects.
3. to explore the opportunities for expansion of various education in the near future.

Significance of the study

This research is significant in that it can add as pot of information to the existing body of
knowledge on the educational sectors in general and on factors affecting the development of
education sectors in particular. Besides, the result of the findings of this research paper will
serves as building block for any interested individuals or groups who are willing to carry out
further and detailed studies on related topics. And it could be help some how to imitate policy
concerns, which are necessary to tackle the problems of education.

Scope of the study.

As to the geographical coverage, this research is confined to the problems and prospects of
education in Aweday town in the year 2008. in terms of dimensional aspects of problems and
prospects of education it considers factors affecting prospects of educational sectors, on the other
hand focuses on the performance of educational sectors. The factors that affect prospects of
educational sectors are have various constraints such as poverty, economic problems, family
related barriers, cultural constraints; school related problems are the main scope of this study.

3
Limitation of the study

The one that most limiting factors for the study is that the data requirements are not fully
satisfied due to lack of time series data on the problems and prospects of education sectors in the
zone of eastern Hararge which may make the study

methodology of the study

Types and source of data.

On the problems and prospects of education, education bureau of Oromia, Federal ministry of
education, economic and development bureau of Aweday town, directors of kindergarten,
primary, secondary, high school and some written materials on educational problems and
prospects were used as a source of this study.
Regarding world problems and prospects the data that collected different documents like
internet world bank on the problem of education

CHAPTER TWO
2. LITERATURE REVIEWS
This chapter contains two parts. The first part discussed related literatures
which is
theoretical while the second part explains empirical literature.
2.1. Theoretical literature
2.1.1 Constraints on the impact of formal education
Some of the major factors influencing the provision of formal education and
limiting its
effectiveness for poor and disadvantaged people are
1. Global economic relations: - these play a key role in determining the
effectiveness of
formal education in achieving development for society as a whole. Even where
the state
invests heavily in education and is committed to social equality and
development
2. Differentiated access and opportunities: - education promotes social
advancement,
raises the states of women and leads to improvements in health and childcare.
However,
educational opportunities is limited by the proximity to urban centers, poverty,
and by

4
discrimination based on gender, class race or cultures. For example, in Costa
Rica, the
national figures for adult illiteracy in 1984 were 7 percent, but in the poorest
rural areas
was almost 20 percent. The discrimination suffered by the people because of
their
cultures or limits their access to education and their opportunities to use it
effectively.
They have to choose between potential alienation from their own culture, and
the need to
master language and cultural forms of the dominant society in order to survive
successfully within it. These choices are experienced differently by women and
men.
(Eade and William, 1995).

3. Gender: - this is crucial factor in determining educational opportunities;

girl’s often
fore worse than boys’ interims of primary school enrollment. There are
considerable
differences in the level of the males and females education in most arts of the
world. In
the Afghanistan, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Nepal, females’ illiteracy in
1990
was twice as high as the figures for males. In Salvadoran rural women’s
organization
founded by Oxfam only one percent of the members could read one percent of
the
members could read and write. Bangladesh is an extreme example, where of
the 60
percent of all children who enroll fewer than 10 percent are girls the ratios are
generally
worse at secondary level and above. Fewer than have as many girls as boys are
enrolled
in secondary school in Sub-Saharan Africa 15 percent and 44 percent
respectively. There
are many factors for unequal educational opportunities of girls and boys.
Mothers are
likely to have received inadequate schooling themselves, and their daughters
generally
bear the burden of domestic work and childcare from an early age. The
expectation of
early marriage or (fact of teenage pregnancy) is also used to justify cutting
short girl’s
education. In self-fulfilling cycle, since greater employment opportunities exists
for men

5
than women, boys’ education takes priority over girls’ education because they
are more
likely to be able to use it. Cultural factors can reinforce gender based
discrimination
women are often regarded as bearers of traditional culture, particularly, culture
identifies
are threatened. In such circumstances, they may be formal education (Eade and
William,
1995)

4. Poverty:-the poorest people are hardest hit inflation, unemployment, and

cuts in
services. They cannot always afford to keep children at school, particularly at
the
secondary level. Costs of education including clothes, books, equipment and

maintenance, and fees. The economic difficulties of poor families increase the
pressure
on children to earn money either instead of or in addition to going to school. A
further
formal education is irrelevant to their economic and cultural need which in often
born out
by a chronic lack of employment opportunities which make use of skills gained
at school.
In addition, poor children live in environment where study is difficult and where
poor
health, over work, and malnutrition may leave them without energy and
concentration to
learn (Eade and William, 1995).
2.1.2. The Gender gap in education.
Low adult literacy rates prevail throughout the developing world. In fourteen
developing
countries where literacy date are available, only one in five adult women can
read, where
as the literacy rates for men ate as low in only five of these countries. Recent
estimates
suggest that only one out of two women in Asia is literate and only out of three
in sub-
Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 1992).
School enrollment rates have been raising for both girls and boys at all levels in
the past
two decades. Primary school enrolment, in particular, has out paced the growth
of youth

6
population, although a few low income countries especially, in sub-Saharan
Africa
experienced decline in primary enrollments in the 1980’s. (UNESCO, 1992).
Many countries have no universal primary education for males and females. But
girls
enrollments continuous to lag behind in many others, most dramatically in
south Asian,
west Asia, north Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. With exception of Sri Lanka, all
south Asian nations have much lower gross enrollment ratios (GER) for girls
than for boys.
In Bhutan, girls’ enrollment in 1983 was 19 percent compared to 34 percent for
boys; in Nepal, 49 percent for girls’ and compared with 110 percent for boys’, in
Pakistan, 38 percent versus 73 percent; in Bangladesh, 50 percent versus 110
percent. Where as in Latin America and nearly all east Asia countries such large
male-female differences had disappeared by 1985 (UNESCO,1992).
At post primary levels, the gender gap widens in some countries, but
narrows in others, why does the gender gap exist? The supply of schools has
expanded greatly in the past twenty five years, leading to accommodating the
increase in primary school enrollment over that period. Moreover, there are few
restrictions to the admission of girls at the primary school level. To understand
why, despite this expansion, a large proportion of school or dropout early in
many developing countries, one need to consider the many factors affect the
education of girls and boys differently. For many families the differed possible
benefits do not seem large enough to offset immediate costs like school fees or
the loss of child labor parents do not often consider the less obvious benefits
that education generates (like improved productivity ) when deciding whether
to send children to school or to favor sons, partly because they are the ones
expected to go out and earn more family income, so this may be the cost of
efficient response by parents to constraints of family resources. One less or
from experience is that expanding access simply by building more schools,
relating admission policies or instituting quotas for girls may lead to higher
levels of female enrollment at margin.
Distortion with labor market due to discriminating employment practice against
women reduce, their attempt earning and benefits that women can expect to
gain from education even when jobs are available. Example, restriction against
the living of married in wage paying-jobs in manufacturing or service sectors.
Explicit or implicit entry barriers against women in certain occupations serve as
obstacles to education. Some of these barriers begin at the primary school
level, with teachers and text book projecting attitudes that discourage school
attendance and performance of girls. Stereotype may persist of girls not being
as good as boy in technical subjects or mathematics. Even obstacles which
begin at the post primary level can nevertheless inhibit girls’ school attendance
and motivation at the primary stage.
In Dominica Republic, three of the most important schools for middle level
technology training bar women even though they have stipends from the

7
national governments. In Pakistan, women are also allowed to enroll in seventy-
two of the secondary school, vocational institution because of strict sex
segregation. (UNESCO, 1992).
In some societies, customs dictates that son take possibility for their
parents, whilst girls marry out of their families at the early age and into their
husband’s families. The earlier marriage age, the fewer parents enjoy the
benefits of their daughter’s education. In Bangladesh, 75 percent married
women living in rural areas were married by the age of seventeen. In India, 75
percent of this group were married by the age twenty-two some evidences
suggests that when girls do not marry so early, but spend some of their time
working in the labor force, parents are more willing to educate their daughters.
In Hong Kong women who tend to marry at a later ages and help their parents
in the interims appear to reach higher educational levels than others. In parts of
southern India, because the more educated women are recognized as having a
higher potential for earning, some grooms parents are willing to accept pre-
payment of dormitories in the form of higher level schooling of the perspective
daughters in law. (UNESCO,1993).
Parents also may have poor knowledge of the benefits of education to the
family’s current health and welfare and prosperity of their grand children. They
may not be aware that the benefit of education are inter generational and
accumulates over time. Or of families may not be appreciating the benefits of
girls’ education in countries where the “Suitable” of educated women to be
good wives in held in doubt. A balance must be starve between providing
courses that help women. Fulfill traditional roles, but at the same time not
allowing curricula to lock women out of wider educational opportunities.
Education itself, along with economic change, can and should be powerful force
in modifying traditional view points on girls’ schooling. (UNESCO, 1992).
Even if they are aware of potential long-range benefits of education,
parents may be unable to afford the tuition, materials, transportation, boarding
fees and others. Costs of sending girls to school. Location, distance and even
clothing requirements can make the effective cost of school attendance higher
for girls. Gender differences enter in when, for instance, parents are more
reluctant to send girls to school without proper clothing of young daughters’ in
some cultures deters them from allowing girls’ to attend distant schools
requiring long travel daily or residence away from home. (UNESCO, 1992)
In countries where religion requires seclusion of women parents allow girls’
to attend only single sex schools with female teachers, or they withdraw girls at
the onset of puberty. Thus, the availability of schools with female teachers may
be of decisive importance, in low-income countries. Only one third of primary,
less than one fourth of secondary, and just over one tenth of tertiary education
teachers are women. The shortage largely reflects the limited pool of potential
women teachers, as a result of low schooling levels of girls, and the reluctance
of young women teachers to work in rural areas. This reason is because cultural
attitudes discourage young, single women from moving far from home and
living alone. The shortage supply of safe dormitories for women even in

8
technical training institute exacerbates the situation. Also women from rural
areas usually do not qualify to enroll in teacher training schools in the cities,
and there are few programme in rural areas to identify, recruit and train girls to
become teachers. Finally, parents may not feel able to afford to send girls to
school if it means their labor cannot be used in traditional ways.
Although in some countries boys perform a large share of family labor such as
livestock herding, with few exception girls do more work than boys in the home
and in the market place. In Nepal and Java (Indonesia) most young girls’ spend
at least a third more hours per day working at home and in the market than
boys of the same age groups as much as 85 percent more hours. 129-150
percent more hours than boys. Clearly, girls who work more than their brothers
will less likely to attend school, perform less well. In addition to lost labor,
parents in many countries feel that girls will lose important training at home in
childcare, household and crafts if they go to school. (UNESCO,1992)

2.1.3 Gender literacy and cultural difference

Gender literacy and cultural difference one area of apparent controllers
concerns the
extent to which the obstacles to girls and women’s education are similar across
cultures.
One view is that in all cultures, although in varying degree, male/female
relationship
place obstacles in the way of girls’ and women’s full participation in education.
Patriarchy is manifested in two ways: the sexual division of labor, and control
over
women’s sexuality. Both these factors so condition a women’s world-view that
marriage,
husband, and family become the be-all and-all for the existence. They also limit
women’s
mental horizons and push education from her attention. As girl’s grow up,
socialized into
their future roles as sexual division of labor the second components, control
over
women’s sexuality, ensures that women maintain their roles as wives and
mothers and is
the cause of women’s inability to control their fertility and its associated
consequences,
including unwanted pregnancies, the practice of early marriage, restricted
physical
mobility for women, and domestic violence. (UNESCO, 1992),
Who benefits from all this? Whose interests are served as by these existing
conditions?

9
In feminist theory, it is undoubtedly men who benefit. Does this mean that
feminists are
setting women against men and women and men against women? The answer
is no most
feminists seem to be seeking a more egalitarian society in which women are
treated as
equals with men “According to feminist theory, the problem of women’s
illiteracy will
not be solved merely underlying problem is not technical. For change to occur,
individual
men in a male-dominated state will have to re-examine and modify their own
values and
attitudes.
An alternative view is that cultural difference between countries is more
important than
some feminist would accept. For example, successful literacy ventures in
Pakistan are
often community based; the important thing is to change total attitudes. In
Feriur-ban
Karachi this has been done.
Successfully using flexible working hours both formal and non-formal teaching
methods,
and education both parents and children, adults are motivated to learn via
primary
economic interests (functional literacy) who has become the subject of the basic
education curriculum. Residential facilities for teachers based in community
have led to
greater school community interaction and help facilitates more opportunities for
girls and
for more women. The whole programme has helped produce a positive,
confident self
concept of women. However, cultural constraints are undeniably powerful. For,
example,
the word “child”, which is gender is neutral in English language, has masculine
connection in south Asia. Here the stark reality is that, by and large, girls are
denied that
joyful care free period of growing and learning that is called child hood. Very
little value
is attached to girls she is caught in a men of cultural practices and social
prejudices from
the moment of her birth. Although she works twice as hard as her brother, and
her labor
contributes to the survival of the family, neglect and malnutrition, treated as
lesser human

10
being and brought up to believe that she does not count. Therefore, in any
society that
aims to social justice in any policy that seeks to move towards quality of
educational
opportunity, attention has to be focused is contrary to entrenched cultural
values. Changes
in education that do not enhance the states of women are not likely either to be
generally
accepted or to reduce women’s present state of under development.

2.1.4. Problems that female student face in Addis Ababa high schools
Another researcher (Emebet, 2003) classified problems of girl’s education under
subheadings of economic constraints, family related barriers and cultural
barriers
economic constraints.
The impact of poverty on women’s education can be studied at two levels:
Country level and family level. Although the degree of poverty in country affects
the
education and in general the life of its citizens, the effect can be moderated by
the socioeconomic
status a family has within the society (Emebet, 2003 p.33)
In discussing the effects of poverty on the education of women, Njeuman (1993)
explained that much improvement has been observed in the education of
women since the
1960’s (Emebet, 2003). However, poverty is still slowing the progress.
Discussing
African, the pointed out that among thirty poorest countries in the world, twenty
are
found in Africa. Under these circumstances, the major concern is the provision
of
education for children in general; it is difficult to give special attention to girl’s,
she

further pointed out that although many developing countries put sign out
amounts of
money and energy into education, several of them were not able to provide it
for all
school age children. (Emebet, 2003 p.34),
Enrollment of girls in school does not guarantee success and completion in
these poor
countries. Strongest (1990) noted that in all developing countries were the
United Nations

11
under took studies, during recession years; girl’s often experienced a change in
parental
plans for enrollment. In such years parents choose retain daughters at home
assist with
work and income generating activities, which would result in lower female
attainment.
(Emebet, 2000).

Because of this fiscal strait, the inequality of males and females in the area of
education
is quite staggering. Hyde (1993:101) pointed out that in Sub-Saharan Africa,
one of the
most enduring kinds of educational inequality are one observed between males
and females. This inequality is reflected in lower levels of attainment and higher
dropout and repetition rates for girls. It is also apparent in different curriculum
choices offered to or made by men and women at the secondary and tertiary
levels; most notably in the low enrollment figures for women’s in scientific and
technical fields (Emebet, 2003 p.34).
The above situation is clearly observed in the Ethiopia case. In urban
areas we find female enrolled in high schools in great number; 50.6 percent of
the students in Addis Ababa in the academic year 1998/99 were women as sited
in (Emebet, 2003 p.34).
However, this high rate of enrollment is accompanied by a staggering rate of
repetition. In the same academic year 61.4 percent of the repeaters were
females (MOE, 2000 p.62).
Among the students who are enrolled in the various higher education
institutions for undergraduate degree programme, only11.6 percent were
females. The percentage of female students in science fields is more
discouraging (Science 9.7 percent, Medicine 11.7 percent, Technology 12.9
percent, and Agriculture 4.7 percent)) Emebet, 2003, p.34/5). One of reflection
of poverty in developing countries is the uneven distribution of schools across
the regions. This related to school distance. In most of the larger cities, we find
a good concentration of schools of all levels, including colleges, through some
students in rural areas have to travel for hours to find a single high school
distance is identified to be an important factor affecting girls education in many
developing countries. Sronguest (1989) indicated that this holds true for rural as
well as urban areas where transportation costs may be high. In many rural
areas of Ethiopia, as the girls pass to high school they are require to go towns to
learn. This situation pushes many parents to take their daughters out of school.
(Emebet, 2003 p.34).

Several studies indicated that the socio-economic states of the family are
highly correlated with the enrollment and persistence of daughters. Hyde (1993)
explained that girls who come from economically advantaged families are much

12
more likely entered and remained in secondary schools than are girls from
disadvantaged families. A similar situation is observed in Ethiopia. In a study of
female student in higher educational institution, it was found that among the
118 schools attended by the respondents, only 13 were private or catholic
schools and almost all these schools were located in the capital or cities. Thirty-
five percent of the female students who entered colleges came from these 13
schools. In some cases, family socio-economic status (SES) plays more
important role than parental education in getting children in to private schools
is often considered a status symbol. (Emebet, 2003 p.35).

2.1.4.1. Poverty
At the both country and family level, is a detriment to the education of women although it
interferes with the education of all children, its correlation is much stronger for female. Stronguest
(1998:150) explained that the higher the income of the family, the greater the desire of parents for
their daughters’ education (Emebet, 2003 p.36).

2.1.4.2 Family related barriers

Family plays a very important role indenturing the degree of access girls have to education and
their level of achievement. There are several family related factors, which including location of
upgrading, parental schooling, and family income (Emebet, 2003 p.36).
Geographical location, urban or rural, can significantly affect the education of children.
According to several studies carried out in developing countries, growing up in rural communities
worsen school opportunities for females more than for males. In the study carried out in Ethiopia,
Abrah, etal (1991) found that urban girls enrolled in school are more likely to persist than rural ones.
The study findings remained consistent, both when girls were studied alone, and when they were
compared to boys. The urban-rural distinction also influences to greater extent the academic
performance of female students. Abraham, etal (1991) stated that in Ethiopia, girls enrolled in
schools found in urban areas had better performance on the national exam than the girls who attend
schools located in rural areas (Emebet, 2003 p.35).
Though, in general, girls in the cities have a better prospect of accessing and succeeding in their
education, and also studying the field/subjects they want, they have their-share of barriers to over
come. In Genet’s (1994) study, was indicated some of the problems of girls in Addis Ababa high
schools encounter were lack of study time to heavy load of house hold chores, dropping out because
of failure to pass exams and pregnancy, and teachers’ biased attitudes. (Emebet, 2003 p.36)

2.1.4.3 Cultural barriers

Culture influences the education of women in various ways. One is cultural division of labor, Zewdie
and Jungles (1990) study of four peasant associations in Ethiopia indicated that women spend about
15 or more hours on various chores important for the household. Under this circumstance, it is the
girls who share the burden of their mothers by spending time on the chores instead of their studies.
Though on the time use study has been carried out in the cities, Genet(1994) pointed out that parents,
and females students themselves and their teachers indicated that the female students spend much
time on household chores (Emebet, 2003 p.36).
Early marriage parents another cultural impediment to girl’s education. Studies in many
developing countries indicated that the number of girls attending school abruptly drop out when the

13
reach the age of 15 to 19. One major reason for the phenomena is early marriage in most developing
countries; early marriage and education are entity theatrical. Bach, etal, (1985) reported that more
education women attained, the older their age at marriage.
The issue of women’s education in developing countries is very complex. It is affected by several
factors among these are economic, political, and social factors. Other factors, related to culture or
religion. The effect of these factors usually differs from place to place, and one factor can be
influenced by any of the others. Studies indicate, however, that they operate in most developing
countries and negatively affect women’s education. (Emebet, 2003 p.36).

2.1.5. Major quality indicator

14