By: Solomon A
Date: October 17, 2022
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Amhara students were denied the national exam by the Abiy Ahmed administration. The Amhara region was devastated by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) aggression in the last two years. Also, the region becomes a battleground; families, and most importantly, students have suffered the most. The following three reasons portray why 12,787 students were forced to leave testing centers situated in Debre Tabor, Debre Markos, Mekdela Amba, and Bahir Dar. First, the prosperity administration deployed a huge number of federal forces in the respected universities to intimidate and confuse students. Secondly, the federal government brought cadres within the vicinities of these universities to create turmoil and spread disinformation easily. Thirdly, the federal and the regional government show no interest to control the situation and instead created widespread agitation to other institutions.
Amhara students are not new to the institutional discriminatory measure the federal government. According to the Ethiopian federal news outlet, FANA, there was a report on Sep 13, 2021, in reference to the Education Bureau Head, Getachew Biazin, “the terrorist TPLF has fully destroyed 260 schools in Amhara Regional State. Furthermore, 2,511 have been also partly destroyed because of the attacks of the terrorist element that targeted civilians in the region. Schools destroyed had the capacity to host over 1 million learners prior to the attacks by the terrorist agent, TPLF.” The federal government of Ethiopia shows little to no effort in restoring such big infrastructure damage for what the Amhara Regional Education Bureau requested. On top of these distractions, the Federal Ministry of Education deliberately targeted Amhara students during their senior year exams.
Audio 1: VOA Amharic interview
As VOA Amharic service spoke with students and the ministry of education authorities, irregularities in exam grading are acknowledged and more than 20, 000 complaints received especially from Amhara and Afar regions. In relation to the grading problem Institute Of The Ombudsman (የሕዝብ ዕንባ ጠባቂ ተቋም) threatens to take the agency to parliament over grade 12 result. However, the Federal examination agency did little effort to respond to the requests.
In addition, the North Wollo Zone Education Department examiner and administration expert, Mulu Adane, said that the zone has been in a state of war for more than five months and students in the region were still not fully prepared to sit for the exams. Therefore, the Amhara Regional Education Bureau head questioned the grading system conducted at the federal level. Even if the head had requested a clarification, Mr. Brehanu Nega, the Minister of Education, had no interest in looking at the situation. Despite his own Deputy Director General of Exams Services, Tefera Feyisa, had even admitted that there were technical problems during the evaluation of the examination.
The first action the Prosperity Party administrations did was to position a gigantic number of federal forces in the respected universities. The presence of heavily armed federal security forces demonstrates that the Department of Education is weak in pursuing and leading the learning process effectively. Secondly, it mounts tremendous pressure on the well-being of students by creating a harrowing environment on school grounds.
In fact, most students came from families impacted by war in one way or another. Students show resilience to all these hardships hoping that education is a bridge from misery to light. Students who lost their parents in the ongoing conflict with TPLF feel a higher level of fear when they see troops on the school compound. Therefore, the school shouldn't look like a war zone but instead a place where students relish peace and safety. In addition, the current ruling party copied the same tactic from the former architect of chaos, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). This includes infiltrating the school system through paid cadres such as prosperity party fanatic educators aligning themselves in their criminal deeds. This verifies that this exam session is a great opportunity to trigger students and create turmoil.
Thirdly, the federal government controls telecommunication and social media propagandists allowing misinformation to spread and reach the level that students are misguided enough to quit their exams. In the aftermath of the incident in the Debre Tabor, Debre Markos, Mekdela Amba, and Bahir Dar exam centers, the Federal Ministry of Education's action itself speaks volumes. In his statement, Brehanu Nega asserted that students who left the exam will not be allowed to take it again. This includes 7,150 students from Debre Tabor University, 2,711 students from Bahir Dar University, 1700 students from Mekdela Amba University at Mekane Selam Campus, and 1,226 students from Debre Markos University, totaling up to 12,787 students.
In conclusion, the Ethiopian federal government should have known better; schools are not an ideal place to stage a political game. As Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” The same applies to Amhara students; what options would they have on the table other than those schools? Education is a bridge for the majority of Amhara students who come across different life challenges throughout their learning process. Especially, raising kids and sending them to school in the current economy is difficult since students entirely depend on countless poor parents. Taking the 12th-grade exam is used as a catalyst to pull families and communities out of the cycle of poverty. Therefore, those 12,787 students who missed the exam should be allowed to retake it. One thing the federal government of Ethiopia has to understand is that students' central goal is getting a good education. Finally, forcing all of those students to drop out from a probable future academic career is a crime against students and communities. As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” So, let them have the opportunity to change their life, their communities, and the world.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ASN or its affiliates.
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