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Ethiopia: Over 4.5m Students Still Out of School Despite Extended Registration in War-Torn Amhara Region

Addis Abeba — Despite a previous announcement extending student registration until March 9 due to “security challenges” and low enrollment, the Amhara Regional Education Bureau has stated that more than 4.5 million students remain out of school, with over 3,600 schools closed across the region.

The latest figures show an increase by more than half a million students since October 2023 when the regional state’s Education Bureau released a report stating that around 3.9 million primary and secondary students, out of the total six million eligible children, were unable to pursue their education during the 2023 academic year.

Demis Endris, Deputy Head of the Amhara Regional Education Bureau, stated that “more than 4.5 million students are out of school due to security problems,” adding that “over 3,600 schools have been closed as a result.”

Demis warned that if the situation persists, “tomorrow, an Amhara mother will not have a child to graduate from university.” He further stated, “We will not have children who we can educate and deploy to different parts of the world as we have been doing until now.”

The Amhara region has been struggling with disruptions to education amid a militarized conflict between government forces and non-state Fano militias, which has resulted in civilian casualties, school shutdowns, and disruptions to aid delivery.

A previous forum on higher education in the region reported that 4.7 million children were out of school and over 6 million people required food assistance.

Demis also claimed that teachers and school administrators who “accepted national citizenship obligations” and are “working to fulfill their professional oaths” have been subjected to “killings, detentions, and harassment.”

According to Dems, the ongoing security challenges are causing “a severe black scar in history,” urging “all natives of the region, Ethiopians, and the international community” to condemn the attacks on educators.