Education for Rural People in Ethiopia Ayalew Shibeshi Associate Professor, Addis Ababa University

Objectives of the Study  To explore the challenges of education for rural people  To assess the initiatives supporting education for rural people  To assess the prospects/opportunities for rural people  To explore mechanisms that improve collaboration among partners and stakeholders and enhance the contribution of education for rural people  To assess the capacity of policy makers and managers in planning and managing education for rural people

Methodology  The method employed in this study is descriptive survey  Relevant documents were reviewed  Available quantitative data were collected  Key informant interviews were held with pertinent officials  Focus group discussions were conducted with selected partners

Demographic and economic situation  Population: over 73 million  84 percent live in rural areas  Agriculture Accounts for about 54% of GDP Employs about 80% of the population Provides for about 90% of the exports Famine and food security have been serious problems particularly in rural areas More than 44% of population lives below poverty line National prevalence of stunting is around 57%

Poverty reduction strategy  The PRSP identifies four building blocks: Agricultural Development Led Industrialization Judiciary and civil service reform Decentralization and empowerment, and Capacity Building

Education and Policy Environment  A new education and training policy was introduced in 1994 and it is being implemented through a series of education sector development programs the third of which will commence as of September 2004/5 The main thrust of ESDP is to: Improve quality Relevance Equity Expand access with special emphasis on primary education in rural and underserved areas as well as promotion of education for girls To this end the country is committed to realize universal primary education by 2015

Current Status of Educational Provision  Vast studies have been made and encouraging trends are observable as compared to the past. However the system is still faced with problems of prodigious proportions. Among these are: Low participation rate: with a net enrollment rate of 57.4% universal primary education is a long way to go Regional disparities: The NER ranges from only 11.0% in Afar to 94% in Addis Ababa. It is particularly low in the pastoralist (nomadic) regions of Afar and Somali

Current Status of Educational Provision  Gender Disparities: the percentage of female enrolment is slowly but steadily increasing although it has not reached parity level. The GPI for the nation was 0.8  Rural urban disparities: The rural areas claims 83.8% of the schools and 68.9% of the enrolment. Progress seems to have been made at this level, but when one considers the size of the rural population of the country (84%) fair distribution has not yet been attained. Whereas 90% of urban children enroll in grade 1, only 45% of rural children do so.

Current Status of Educational Provision  Quality: With less qualified teachers and high student teacher and student section ratio, quality is not to the desired level and it is more so in the rural areas.  Internal efficiency: is low mainly as a result of high dropout rates. The survival rate to grade five for 2002/2003 was only 38.8 %. Most of the dropouts are children from rural areas

Strategies and Initiatives Supporting ERP  Expanding supply Low cost schools Boarding and mobile schools Multi-grade school system Alternative basic education Adult and non formal education Community based school construction Private provision of education Increasing schools in rural areas

Strategies and Initiatives Supporting ERP  Improving quality Provision of textbooks Teacher development programs Mother tongue instruction Student centered teaching methods Stakeholder’s participation Use of educational technology such as radio and TV

Strategies and Initiatives Supporting ERP  Stimulated demand: Promotion of education for girls Ensuring school affordability Making schools attractive

Program and types of education targeting rural population  Early childhood education  Primary education  Adult and nonformal education  TVET  Farmer training centers  Training of community based animal health workers

Challenges  Access and equity issues  Efficiency and quality issues  Capacity in planning and managing the system  Coordination and collaboration between partners and government

Prospects for ERP  Global situation  Private provision of education  Political support  PRSP  Decentralization policy

Issues of concern  Alternative strategies  Bringing decentralization nearer to schools  Strengthening local initiatives  Monitoring progress  Strengthening institutional capacity  Improving the scope of collaboration and coordination  Creating enabling environment  Adapting the curriculum