Over Five Million Students in Amhara Region Unable to Return to School Amid Ongoing Conflict
More than five million students in Ethiopia’s Amhara region have not returned to school this academic year, as violent clashes continue between government security forces and Fano militants.
The Amhara Regional Education Bureau had initially planned to enroll over seven million students for the current fiscal year (2017 Ethiopian Calendar), but the persistent instability has drastically disrupted these efforts.
As of August 2024, only 1.7 million students have been registered, according to the Regional Education Bureau.
The breakdown shows that more than 292,000 students have enrolled in pre-primary schools, 1.2 million in primary and middle schools, and around 180,000 students in high schools.
“Registration for secondary schools is still underway, but there has been a slight delay,” a spokesperson for the Bureau stated. “So far, we have managed to register about 1.7 million students, which accounts for only 24 percent of our target.”
The conflict’s impact on education has been devastating. Many students were already out of school last year due to the war in the region.
Getachew Biazen, Head of Public Relations at the Amhara Regional Education Bureau, expressed the office’s aspirations for the new academic year: “Our goal is for all 10,874 schools in the region to open their doors and educate seven million students.
However, the ongoing security issues make it difficult to conduct education as we have done in the past.”
Despite the challenges, efforts to register students continue. “There are many obstacles, especially in areas affected by conflict, but registration is still proceeding, even if it’s slower than we had hoped,” said Getachew.
The Bureau also called for cooperation from all parties involved in the conflict, emphasizing the importance of education and urging everyone, including those engaged in armed struggle, to ensure that teaching and learning are not interrupted.
“There are students eager to learn, and it’s crucial for all—scholars, religious leaders, and even those on the other side of the conflict—to support the continuation of education,” the Bureau added.
Last year, education was suspended in many parts of the Amhara region, with several schools closed due to the conflict. More than 1,115 schools suffered significant damage due to the ongoing war, with some facilities rendered unusable.
Of the 6.2 million students enrolled in 2023, over two million were forced to abandon their education due to the conflict.
In a related development, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in its recent report on human rights violations in Ethiopia, highlighted that 70 percent of the abuses in the Amhara and Oromia regions were carried out by government security forces.
The report also noted that from August to December last year, 248 civilians were killed in government drone strikes, with public infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, among the casualties.
Overall, the UN commission documented 594 human rights violations across Ethiopia, with 70 percent attributed to government forces and 22 percent to other conflict participants.
