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1
MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION IN ETHIOPIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Carol Benson, Kathleen Heugh, Berhanu Bogale and Mekonnen Alemu Gebre Yohannes
1.1 Introduction
Ethiopia, with a population of 73.9 million of mostly subsistence farmers, is one of the poorest countries of the world (Population Census Commission/PCC 2008).1 The ‘working language of government’, also known as the national language, is Amharic, which is spoken as a mother tongue by approximately 27% of the population and as a second language/lingua franca by an additional 9.9% according to the 1994 census (Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia/CSA 2007). The Ethnologue (Lewis 2009) lists another 84 indigenous languages known as ‘nationality’ languages, including Afan Oromo/Oromifa representing 34.5% of the population and Tigrinya and Somali at about 6% each (confirmed by PCC 2008). Though it has few first language (L1) speakers, English is considered the ‘most widely spoken foreign language’ at 0.3% of the population (CSA 2007; Wagaw 1999).2
In 1994 Ethiopia adopted a multilingual national Education and Training Policy (Ministry of Education/MoE 1994), which calls for the use of learners’ mother tongues for literacy and learning through the full eight years of primary schooling. This policy includes the teaching of Amharic (beginning in grades 3 or 5) to the 73% of students with other home languages. English is introduced as a subject starting in grade 1 and is the official medium of instruction (MoI) from grade 9 onwards (in secondary and higher education). The policy is bilingual for L1 speakers of Amharic and trilingual for speakers of other languages (L1 + Amharic + English).
Ethiopia’s national policy has been implemented to differing degrees by its nine semi-autonomous regional states and two city administrations. In 2006 the Ministry of Education commissioned the authors of this chapter to evaluate implementation of the language policy in primary schools. A wide range of quantitative and qualitative data was collected in eight of the nine regions and one city-state, Addis Ababa. The findings informed evidenced-based recommendations for future policy and practice.3
This chapter presents an abridged version of the report, Study on Medium of Instruction in Primary Schools in Ethiopia (Heugh, Benson, Bogale and Gebre Yohannes 2007) along with updated information on changes to policy implementation through 2010.4 This chapter demonstrates that where the political will is present, a national system even in a low-income country can initiate and implement mother tongue-based multilingual education (MLE) policy within a relatively short time frame (six to ten years, in this case). In (Heugh, Benson, Gebre Yohannes and Bogale, this volume) we focus on the implications of the system-wide assessment of student achievement in the different models of bilingual and trilingual education practised between 2000 and 2008. This quantitative data helps draw attention to correlations between student achievement, the number of years of mother tongue-medium education (MTM education, hereafter MTM), and more recent emphasis on English since 2004.
The case of Ethiopia is likely to be of interest to international audiences for a number of reasons. First, the national policy for primary schooling is consistent with contemporary research supporting extended educational use of the mother tongue and the addition of other languages through bi- or trilingual approaches (e.g. Alidou et al. 2006). Next, it appears that decentralised educational decision-making has made it possible for the semi-autonomous regional states to choose regional and/or local languages and develop the materials needed to implement national policy, albeit to varying degrees and with greater challenges in more linguistically diverse regions. Uneven implementation makes Ethiopia something of a microcosm of the different models of bi/multilingual education currently on offer internationally. The Heugh et al. (2007) study provides clear evidence that particular learning outcomes are associated with the extent to which mother tongues are used in education (see also here). Most importantly, the Ethiopian experience demonstrates that theoretically sound multilingual education (MLE) can be offered even in challenging, resource-scarce conditions, and that this type of education can dramatically enhance school results for all learners.
The study also revealed some inconsistencies in the national policy. There is a tension between the implementation of a mother tongue-based MLE system and aspirational pressure towards English as a perceived language of access to the world. This has resulted in the early introduction of English as a subject from grade 1 and its use as medium of instruction (MoI) for secondary and further education. We found evidence that overly ambitious aspirations for English compromise the teaching and learning of academic content and put undue pressure on effective MLE, which sounds a warning for other countries with such aspirations. The under-utilised educational potential of Ethiopia’s national language, Amharic, may also have implications for other multilingual contexts.
1.2 The Context of Ethiopian Multilingual Education
1.2.1 Brief Sociolinguistic Overview
Four major ethnolinguistic groups – the Oromo, Amhara, Tigray and Somali – together comprise approximately 74% of the population (PCC 2008). The remaining 26% of the population belong to about 80 ethnolinguistic communities. Table 1.1 lists the Ethiopian languages that have at least one million speakers.
For historical and political reasons, Amharic was made the official working language of the Ethiopian government in the 1955 Constitution. Although the primacy of Amharic is contested, particularly among the more numerous Afan Oromo speakers, it nevertheless functions as a lingua franca of business and administration across the country.
English has been the most popular foreign language in Ethiopia since the British helped Ethiopia expel the Italians after their brief occupation during the Second World War (e.g. Negash 1990). However, English is used only by a small minority of urban educated economic and/or political elite. The practical diffusion of English in Ethiopia is limited to fewer functional domains than in many other African countries. A difference between other ‘anglophone’ countries and Ethiopia is that in the former, English was used in the administration, legislation and upper levels of education and the economy from the late 1800s, thus functioning as a second language for urban dwellers. English is a relatively foreign language across Ethiopia, a country never colonised by an English-speaking power.
1.2.2 History of Language in Education
The first ‘western’ school was established in Addis Ababa in 1908 for a small number of young men from privileged families who were to learn English, French and Italian (Negash 1990). Although English and Italian were used in the few schools that were established in the first part of the century, Amharic was used as the medium of instruction for primary schools from the mid-1950s onwards. Students were expected to switch to English medium in secondary school.5 The use of Amharic, while welcomed by Amharic speakers, was resented by other ethnolinguistic groups, particularly the more numerous Oromo (or Oromifa). Many communities, therefore, kept their children out of school and enrolment was lower than in most African countries.
TABLE 1.1 Major Ethiopian languages
| Language/ethnic group | Number of speakers | % of population |
| Afan Oromo/Oromo | 25,488,344 | 34.5 |
| Amhara | 19,867,817 | 26.9 |
| Somali | 4,581,793 | 6.2 |
| Tigrinya/Tigray | 4,483,776 | 6.1 |
| Sidama | 2,966,377 | 4.0 |
| Gurage | 1,867,350 | 2.5 |
| Wolaita | 1,707,074 | 2.3 |
| Hadiya | 1,284,366 | 1.7 |
| Afar | 1,276,372 | 1.7 |
| Gamo | 1,107,163 | 1.5 |
Source: adapted from PCC 2008, Table 2.2, p. 16; ethnic groups used as proxy for language
The overthrow of Haile Selassie in 1974 by the socialist Dergue gave Ethiopian ‘nationalities’ the right, in theory, to use their languages for educational and other regional sociopolitical purposes. The Dergue’s literacy campaigns were established in 15 Ethiopian languages, but Amharic continued as the only language of primary education, even though research demonstrated that Amharic negatively affected school achievement for speakers of other languages (Negash 1990; Gebre Yohannes 2005).
Social and political change at the beginning of the 1990s resulted in the downfall of the Dergue and the independence of Eritrea. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), together with several opposition parties, formed the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE).The right of every Ethiopian ‘nation and nationality’ to use and develop its languages and cultures was strengthened in the Ethiopian Constitution of 1994, and in the Education and Training Policy of the same year (MoE 1994). Ethiopia thus transformed from a single-party military political system to a self-proclaimed multi-party, multi-ethnic state; from a centrally controlled to a decentralised administrative system; and from a monolingual education system to a multilingual one.
The 1994 Education and Training Policy identifies the learner’s mother tongue (L1) for primary schooling, Amharic as the national working language (L2 for about 73% of students) and English (L3/foreign language) as the language of secondary and tertiary education. Table 1.2 shows how each language is to be used and at what levels of education.
TABLE 1.2 Language distribution according to the National Education and Training Policy
| Language | Level of education | Function |
| L1: Mother tongues (nationality languages) | Primary (grades 1 to 8) only | Medium of instruction |
| L2: Amharic (countrywide use in oral and written communication) | In practice from grade 3 or 5 through secondary (starting point not specified) | Subject |
| L3: English (foreign language) | From grade 1 through university | Subject in primary; Medium of instruction from grade 9 upward (secondary and tertiary) |
Source: adapted from Gebre Yohannes 2005
While this national policy serves as a guide, decentralisation of education administration to regional education bureaus (REBs) has allowed for some variation in implementation. The more linguistically diverse regions have understandably experienced most challenges, but over time increasing numbers of languages have been adopted in education (23 by 2006, 32 by 2010).
1.2.3 The Context of Ethiopian Education
Ethiopia is a low-income country and educational achievement generally is low. Throughput to secondary education is also low and there is significant gender disparity across the system. About 85% of the population lives in rural areas, making it difficult to expand educational and other services, particularly since the country’s GDP per capita is estimated at US$ 636.6 According to UNICEF (2008), net enrolment in primary schooling is 66% (69 for boys and 64 for girls), and net enrolment in secondary schooling is 32% (37 for boys and 26 for girls). Statistics are not consistent, however, and the World Bank offers a significantly lower rate for gross enrolment in secondary at 18.5%, based on UNESCO Institute of Statistics data in 2005 (Lewin 2008: 71). The pupil–teacher ratio is 72 : 1 in primary schooling. Both the positive outcomes of the 1994 policy and the challenges need to be understood in this context.
1.2.3.1 Improving Educational Quality, Access and Equity
In recent years the MoE has been concerned about the practical implementation of a workable language policy supporting equitable delivery of quality education to which all have access. Like other countries, Ethiopia undertook a commitment to Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the UNESCO Education for All Frameworks (EFA) at the Jomtien Conference of 1990. The goal of quality education is to facilitate optimal cognitive development of the pupil through schooling (UNESCO 2005), and research demonstrates many connections between quality and mother tongue-based schooling (MLE).
Concerned with delivery of quality education and with reducing gender disparities in enrolment and retention, the MoE engages in ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the system, including system-wide assessments of grade 4 and 8 students. In , we draw on some of the results from these to demonstrate how mother tongue-medium (MTM) education is working and where the risks lie.
1.2.3.2 Civil Society Perceptions of MTM Education
At the outset, public response to the 1994 policy was reportedly mixed. In the Oromiya region, where support for Afan Oromo has been strong and where the level of linguistic development is advanced, practice may have been ahead of policy. However, in other regions, reservations were expressed regarding the use of nationality languages in education. George (2002) reports that parents were concerned that focus on the L1 might negatively affect their children’s ability to speak Amharic or English, which could cause them to fail the grade 8 examinations (for similar concerns in other contexts see Mohanty; Nikièma and Ilboudo, this volume). Some Ethiopian parents expressed misperceptions or fears similar to those elsewhere in Africa, including: that MTM education is too expensive, that mother tongues (MTs) may not be sufficiently developed for education or that this might delay access to English, or that mathematics and science can only be taught through a language like English (see also Gebre Yohannes 2005). These concerns occur where communities do not have access to reliable information regarding multilingual education, even though they are addressed in the research literature (e.g. Alidou et al. 2006). Many concerns can be successfully refuted with the data reported in our study (see below, and ).
1.2.3.3 The Position of English
Contemporary use of English in school had its roots in Ethiopia’s relationship with Britain during the Second World War, which led to adoption of curriculum and teaching materials based on British models. English has consistently been used as the medium of secondary education and teacher education, initially with a large number of the teaching corps being English-speaking ‘ex-pats’. However, owing to limited use of English beyond school, students have not been able to develop the degree of proficiency in English required (see Hussein 2010). The number of English-speaking teachers declined during the Dergue regime, and researchers found that English presented serious barriers to effective teaching and learning (Negash 1990). Based on field surveys in the mid-1980s, a key advisor recommended that English should not be used as a MoI until later stages in the education system, and that government should:
ensure that students and parents fully realize that … ‘Later English means better English’! … ‘Later English means better science, mathematics, geography …’
(Stoddart 1986: 19)
As Table 1.2 above illustrates, the 1994 Education and Training Policy removed English as MoI from eight years of primary school but introduced it as a subject from grade 1. Unfortunately, teachers have never had the English language proficiency necessary to implement this policy. Until recently, the teaching of English in the 1st cycle of primary schooling (grades 1 to 4) was expected to be undertaken by classroom teachers who had received a one-year teacher-training certificate after a grade 10 scho...
