Ethiopia

• Improving enrolment and participation in schools. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, school enrolment increased. Namely due to parent involvement in school improvement plans that identify issues of child safety; WASH in schools; and the development of teaching and learning materials. Based on these plans, school grants are provided to primary and secondary schools to address such issues. Participation by parents, teachers and students in the planning process increases their sense of ownership.
• Improving teaching through the training of teachers who are refugees. In coordination with the MoE and Colleges of Teaching Education, their professional development is advanced through accredited in-service training programmes. Teachers and education personnel are trained in learning outcome assessment, with the majority completing their certificate, diploma, or in-service training.
• Increasing community participation towards providing a safe and protective learning environment. Specifically, to raise awareness and increase participation on issues relating to children, especially girls’ education. Extensive engagement campaigns are conducted in refugee and host-community primary schools in targeted regions.
• Increasing continuity of education for conflict-affected girls and boys. Out-of-school children and adolescents – including local, refugee and internally-displaced at the primary, pre-primary, and secondary levels are benefiting from accelerated school-readiness programming.
• Strengthening access through the building and rehabilitation of school infrastructure. In the Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella regions, primary and secondary schools were built to improve access to education for refugee and host community children. ECW supports the construction of primary classrooms and inclusive secondary schools, along with the expansion of additional schools, in both regions. Building of safe latrines, including latrines for girls with provisions for menstrual hygiene management (MHM), ensures the protection of students. Water systems and water tanks are also being rehabilitated at primary schools for refugees.
• Strengthening national systems. The MYRP facilitated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Regional Education Bureau and the Agency for Refugee and Returnees Affairs, to strengthen coordination between the two agencies. The programme also supports the collection of preliminary data on the qualifications of teachers who are refugees themselves and an assessment of their needs.

For more information on ECW's work in Ethiopia, please contact Country Lead Dianah Nelsen (dnelson@unicef.org) and Eddie Dutton (rdutton@unicef.org).