Problems of the Ethiopian Educational System between 1941-2000

The main aim of this seminar paper is to analyse the problems of the Ethiopian education system from 1941, when the Italian rule and domination ended in Ethiopia, to the downfall of the Derg regime, in 1991. The sources that the researcher used to accomplish this seminal work came from secondary literature, both articles and published books. Before and after the development of modern education, the community's indigenous education, and religious education (Church, Islamic, and later missionaries) played an important role in teaching the community. Since its inception, the education system in Ethiopia has faced many challenges, including opposition from Orthodox church leaders, the influence of Western philosophy, a shortage of skilled labour, a lack of diversity, and a lack of integration of Ethiopian indigenous knowledge into the education system. The history of the education system in Ethiopia went through different political regimes and in all regimes, the education system did not reflect the true Ethiopian culture, social, and economic situation. The reason is due to the curriculum of the time was designed and developed with the involvement of Western expertise. It’s better to conclude that the education system of Ethiopia from its establishment to the 1990s was copied from the Western education system.

This paper discusses the education problems in Ethiopia from the post-Italian occupation to the 1990s. In Ethiopian educational history, after the Ethio-Italian War (1936-1941), the three systems of government that took shape in Ethiopia's education system were the Imperia Regime, the Military Socialist Regime, and the current government. The issues in Ethiopia's education system were that each regime criticized the previous education system rather than building on the former's strengths and developing new policies to support the expected change. However, the education system and policy government of different regimes developed depended on the ideology they followed and the diplomatic relation they formed. This seminar paper discussed these and other related issues of Ethiopian education concerns in depth between the aforementioned epochs.