Schools in Ethiopia - Enrollment

Enrollment

Before the 1974 revolution, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 85%. After the revolution, emphasis was placed on increasing literacy which increased by 25.5% by 1995.The gross enrollment for primary school aged children in Ethiopia was some 68.4% as of 2004. Enrollment was lower for girls, at 59.1%. Factors reducing enrollment include the effects of drought and for girls over 10, the fear of abduction into forced marriage.

Examples of efforts to increase enrollment include the construction of 48 new schools in the Semien Wollo Zone of Amhara Region in 2005. According to the zonal education department the new schools had taken on more than 41,000 new students. This raised the total enrollment to 228,990 out of an estimated 300,000 potential students.