#Commentary: Lessons Unlearned: How politics distorted #Ethiopia’s education system with reforms stuck on repeat

In this commentary, Nardos Abebe traces the evolution of Ethiopia's education policy under consecutive regimes, illustrating how it has been shaped and, at times, distorted by prevailing political ideologies since the opening of the nation's first modern public school, Menelik II School. He emphasizes that "each subsequent regime imposed its ideology," noting that while Emperor Haile Selassie expanded access in the 1930s, "education remained limited to a select segment." He recalls how the socialist Derg regime dismantled earlier reforms and realigned the education system with Eastern Bloc countries, implementing a curriculum that "prioritized ideology over socio-economic progress."

Under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (#EPRDF), education policy underwent yet another transformation, according to the author, this time under the doctrine of "revolutionary democracy." While this era introduced instruction in local languages, Nardos argues the administration emphasized quantity over quality, highlighting that its ‘flood and retain’ strategy, intended to address workforce shortages, ultimately produced "hundreds of thousands of unemployed graduates."

He notes that the Prosperity Party (PP) continues the pattern of discrediting previous policies, pointing out that the administration introduced a new education policy in 2023 “amid widespread criticism,” adding that “it may be heavily influenced by the ‘Medemer’ philosophy,” a concept promoted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Nardos goes on to say that despite the appointment of Professor Berhanu Nega, an opposition figure, as Education Minister, the system remains "highly politicized," with key leadership positions predominantly occupied by individuals primarily identified as "loyalists and cadres of the ruling party."

The author concludes by underscoring a central challenge: "The Ethiopian education system is currently characterized by perpetual shifts, with each new political regime imposing its distinct political ideology upon the educational framework." However, he asserts that "Professor Berhanu and his colleagues yet retain a critical opportunity to genuinely insulate the educational system from political interference."

https://addisstandard.com/?p=50996

#Ethiopia reports 33rd #Polio case in 2025

According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Ethiopia reported its 33rd polio case of 2025 on June 18. The country recently confirmed four additional cases of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) in the Oromia region.

The World Health Organization states that for nearly a decade, the Horn of Africa has been battling persistent outbreaks of this poliovirus variant. Low immunity among children and unmonitored population movement have fueled the spread of the virus.

In 2025, Ethiopia strengthened its surveillance and preparedness efforts to prevent the further spread of the disease. In February, over 15 million children were vaccinated. The campaign launched in the country’s Somali region.

https://www.vax-before-travel.com/2025/06/22/ethiopia-reports-33rd-polio-case-202

#Ethiopia: #TPLF chairman vows to strengthen people-to-people ties with #Eritrea; warns Pretoria deal facing “worsening” setbacks

Debretsion Gebremichael, chairperson of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), said his party is working to ensure that “the people-to-people relations developing between the peoples of Tigray and Eritrea continue to strengthen,” and pledged to “strive to ensure similar relations exist with other neighboring peoples.” Speaking at a ceremony held on 22 June in Hawzen town, he said the people of Tigray have “nothing that conflicts with other peoples,” and expressed a desire “to live in peace with Amhara, Afar, Eritrea, Sudan, and other Ethiopian peoples — to emerge from poverty and live in development.”

Debretsion warned that “many issues of the Pretoria Peace Agreement have not been implemented,” citing the continued displacement of people and what he described as the failure to uphold the region’s territorial integrity. He said “more than one million displaced people from the region have not returned to their homes,” and cautioned that “activities that could completely collapse the agreement are getting worse from time to time.”

He also accused “the Prosperity-led government” and a group he referred to as “the betrayal group” of obstructing the agreement’s implementation and attempting to divide the TPLF. “The Prosperity-led government has provided complete leadership and support to the betrayal group created within our party,” he said. Debretsion added that the TPLF “will continue to work to ensure that the genocide committed against our people is called by its name,” and called on the international community to act, urging the EU, AU, IGAD and the US “to do their part to ensure the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=51016

PM Abiy says health professionals’ demands ‘hijacked’; warns of ‘politicians in white coats’

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has claimed that the recent strike by healthcare professionals over salary, benefits and housing have been overtaken by “political opportunists,” and warned that the issue is no longer within the profession’s control.

In a discussion held with members of the healthcare sector, the Prime Minister said, “The path to a solution is no longer in your hands; it has been taken away,” and cautioned that those “with no service experience” have assumed leadership of the discourse. He suggested this development was eroding the profession’s integrity.

While acknowledging that “doctors working under immense pressure” are voicing “valid concerns,” the Prime Minister alleged that individuals with political motives were exploiting the situation. Referring to them as “politicians in white coats,” Abiy said, “These are not doctors,” but people who have “turned the white coat into a political tool.”

#Iran-#Israel-#US latest:

#Iran fires missiles at #US bases in #Qatar, #Iraq

Iran retaliated on Monday for the US strikes targeting three of its nuclear sites, firing at least 10 missiles at American bases in Qatar and Iraq.

Iran has launched at least 10 missiles toward US bases in Qatar, and one toward Iraq, an Israeli defense official confirmed to Al-Monitor. Qatar hosts the largest US military presence in the Middle East, with more than 8,000 troops stationed at Al Udeid Air Base outside the capital Doha. The US military maintains a presence at Ain Al Asad Air Base in Iraq's Anbar province.

Explosions were heard over Qatar capital Doha, according to both Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, Iran's missile operation against US bases in Qatar and Iraq has begun under the name Blessings of Victory.

A senior White House official told Al-Monitor that "the White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar."

There was no immediate information available on casualties. The attack is the second largest direct attack by Tehran on US targets after the Islamic Republic's response to the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/06/iran-retaliates-fires-missiles-us-bases-qatar-iraq

#Commentary: Sovereignty and its enemies in the #Ethiopia region

In this commentary, originally published in The Addis Standard Quarterly Journal (ASQJ), Issue #2, Professor Medhane Tadesse argues that Ethiopia’s sovereignty—both at the state and societal level—is under serious threat. He contends that these foundational principles “fell into disuse in recent times in part because the post-2018 government made them ‘expendable,’” as the state has “permitted external interference” and “failed to protect its own citizens.”

The author traces this shift by highlighting Ethiopia’s historical foreign policy stance, which traditionally upheld the “principle of non-interference in neighboring countries unless they pose a clear danger to their security.” This “realist” approach, he notes, sought to preserve the “status quo and balance of power”—a consistent feature across successive regimes, given the complex challenge of uniting diverse ethnic groups in a highly volatile region.

However, according to Professor Medhane, this principle has eroded under the current administration, which has “abandon[ed] its responsibility to ensure the sovereignty of the country,” notably by enabling and encouraging “the unwarranted involvement of neighbors and nearby powers,” such as Eritrea, in Ethiopia’s internal affairs—including military operations in #Tigray. He characterizes this foreign interference as “disastrous,” asserting that it has “fatally interrupted the advancement and adjustment of social and political systems” and turned the “Ethiopian state [into] a major threat to its own population’s existence, rights, and welfare.”

The author further critiques the government for forging “unprincipled alliances” to wage war not only in Tigray but also in #Oromia and #Amhara. He goes on to argue that Ethiopia’s “policy sovereignty has been compromised,” as external actors—particularly Western powers—are exploiting the country’s fragile state to “further push for jumbled economic reforms” and to exert undue influence over its internal affairs. In Professor Medhane’s assessment, “There has never been a case where a [Ethiopian] government would carelessly hand over its sensitive security and economic affairs to another power.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=51031

#Ethiopian Restaurant Named Best Eatery Near Oxford Station

A popular Ethiopian restaurant has been named the best place to eat near #Oxford's train station by a well-known national food review website.

The Good Food Guide has named Lula's Ethiopian Restaurant in Frideswide Square as the best place to eat near Oxford train station in its definitive guide to eateries for rail travellers in Britain.

The restaurant opened in 2021 in the central location run by community interest company Makespace Oxford after serving delicious food for years at Gloucester Green Market and has won glowing reviews ever since.

The family-run business owned and founded by Lula Kinnaird offers a range of fresh cooked Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes with a wide selection of vegan vegetarian and gluten-free options.

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/25262162.oxford-train-stations-best-food-named-good-food-guide/

#US Embassy acknowledges President Taye’s call for US firms “to consider investing in #Ethiopia,” backs “reform path”

The U.S. Embassy in #Addis_Abeba said it “acknowledges Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie’s call” at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, Angola, for American companies “to consider investing in Ethiopia,” and encouraged the country “to continue on its reform path” aimed at building “a welcoming, private-sector led economy.”

The embassy stated, “We agree the potential is there,” adding that “an open, business-friendly Ethiopia will push it and the region forward.”

President Taye, speaking at a panel noscriptd Strengthening U.S.-Africa Collaboration in the Agri-food Sectors, said Africa “has the potential to emerge as the U.S.’s preferred investment hub,” but underlined that this requires “adequate arable land, a vibrant workforce, and appropriate policies.”

https://x.com/addisstandard/status/1937502455366865040

#Ethiopia: Displaced #Zalambessa residents revisit hometown after five years; informal cross-border movement resumes between #Ethiopia, #Eritrea

Internally displaced people (IDPs) from Zalambessa town in eastern #Tigray say they have visited their homes for the first time in five years, following the resumption of informal cross-border movement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which has remained largely closed since the outbreak of the Tigray war in November 2020.

The visit, which took place on Sunday, 21 June, was organized by local activists and community members, according to individuals who took part. Though not officially sanctioned, some described the initiative as having the “tacit blessings” of officials on both the Eritrean and Tigray sides. Abraham Hagos (PhD), head of the Eastern Tigray Zone Administration, said the initiative was “not carried out through a government plan.” He added, “It’s the elders of the community who are doing this themselves,” with the aim to “strengthen people-to-people connections and create peace.” Abraham stated that while the administration supports such efforts, “this issue is being led not by the district and zonal administrations, but by the people themselves and the elders they have chosen.”

Among those who visited was Zaid Hadgu, a mother displaced to Adigrat since 2020, who said, “We didn’t go back to stay. We went to see and study the situation there.” Describing her emotional response, she said, “When I saw my house, I felt something I can’t explain. Your house is your house. It knows your troubles,” adding, “even your death is better in your own house.” She said her family continues to face “hunger, instability, and uncertainty” in displacement.

Similarly, Priest Alem Tesfay, now living in Fatsi town, said his home in Zalambessa was found “destroyed” and claimed that his property was “taken by Eritrean forces.” He noted the lack of “water, electricity, or medical care,” but added that he supports peace efforts. “There is nothing greater than peace,” he said, urging officials to “work toward reconciliation” and calling on international organizations to assist in “restor[ing] services and support[ing] rebuilding efforts.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=51040