Ethiopia’s Political Leaders Champion Girls’ Education

Ethiopia’s education sector plan was endorsed by the Global Partnership for Education in 2004. At that time, 45 percent of the girls in the 6 to 11 age group were not attending school.

Increases in girls’ education in the years before joining the Global Partnership for Education were encouraging. From 1999 to 2004, over a four-year period, the increase in girls’ grossenrollment (GER) was about 31 percent.

In contrast, after joining the Global Partnership for Education, in the following four years, the increase in GER more than doubled to 92 percent. Girls’net enrollment (NER) also increased 39 percent, reaching 75 percent in 2008.

Although completion rates are still too low, these have increased from 24 percent in 2004 to 43 percent in 2008. Ethiopia’s success in increasing girls’ enrollment was grounded in its vision for all children to have access to quality education by 2015.

The Education Sector Plan confirms Ethiopia’s pledge to “take affirmative action to ensure equity in female participation… in all education and training programs and to increase their role and participation in development.” T

he Global Partnership for Education provided the opportunity for partners to join in providing coherent support in implementing this vision. Interventions outlined in the ESP to bring girls to school included:

• Publicity campaigns creating awareness at the regional level;
• Encouraging parents and government officials to monitor schools for violence against girls;
• Providing sufficient toilets for girls and establishing “girls clubs” in schools;
• Targeted recruiting of women as teachers and administrators;
• Micro-level initiatives to address specific needs of girls-out-of-school;
• Establishing a special day to celebrate girls;
• Strengthening monitoring, and making the school system accountable for actions detrimental to the access and survival of girls.

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