June 30, 2025
Grade 12 Exam in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia impacted by the conflict
By: Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education announced on Monday the commencement of the 2017 academic year’s Ethiopian Secondary School Leaving Examination, (ESSLE) commonly known as the 12th Grade National Exam. The first round of the natural science exam began at all testing centers across the country. Minister of Education Professor Berhanu Nega officially launched the exam at Bonga University, accompanied by Ministerial Advisor and State Minister Professor Kindeya Gebrehiwot and the Chief Administrator of the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region, Dr. Engineer Negash Wagesho. According to the Ministry, over 608,000 students are expected to sit for the exam, in both paper-based and online formats.
However, the nationwide rollout of the exam has been overshadowed by a severe education crisis in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where ongoing armed conflict has disrupted schooling for millions of students. Recent reports confirm that hundreds of schools in the region were unable to participate in the national exam due to security concerns, infrastructure damage, and the displacement of students and teachers.
Local reports indicate that the ongoing war has forced hundreds of schools in the Amhara region to cancel this year’s national school-leaving exams, highlighting the profound impact of the conflict on the region’s educational system. Sources told Borkena that many high schools in the Amhara region have transported students to zonal cities like Debre Birhan and Dessie to sit for the examination. ‘Students were accompanied by federal government convoys to Debre Birhan,’ one resident from Shewa Robit told Borkena. ‘We were afraid that conflict might erupt between Fano and the federal government while our children were being transported,’ the source added.”
In addition to exam disruptions, a staggering number of students have dropped out of school. According to data from the Amhara Regional Education Bureau cited by various sources, more than 3.9 million children are currently out of school in the region. It further reported that over 3,600 schools have been closed, looted, or damaged due to the conflict, depriving an estimated 4.5 million students of access to education. These closures have effectively made it impossible for many students to continue their education or take part in national assessments.
This disparity has raised serious concerns about growing educational inequality in the country. While students in more stable regions proceed with their academic plans and national exams, their counterparts in Amhara and similarly affected regions like Oromia could be left behind, facing uncertainty and long-term consequences.
An education analyst based in Addis Ababa noted that such disparities may significantly affect the academic performance of students in conflict-prone areas. “When students are repeatedly exposed to instability and displacement, it inevitably disrupts their learning process and preparation for national assessments,” the analyst said, adding that the gap in access to consistent education could lead to unequal outcomes in national exam results and long-term disadvantages in higher education opportunities.
According to a recent report by East African Review, Ethiopia’s education system is undergoing an unprecedented crisis driven by conflict, displacement, and systemic failures. In heavily affected regions like Amhara and Oromia, ongoing violence has forced thousands of schools to close, leaving millions of children out of the classroom.
For the past academic year, the Ministry of Education reported that only 5.4% of the 674,823 students who took the Grade 12 national exam scored above 50%, with some schools recording no passing students at all. While reforms such as administering exams in public universities have helped reduce cheating, deeper issues—such as resource shortages and widespread school disruptions—remain unresolved. Minister of Education Berhanu Nega noted that aside from a few relatively better-performing areas like Addis Ababa and Harari, the overall results point to what he described as a “systemic collapse.”
The crisis is further compounded by a worsening humanitarian emergency marked by food insecurity, climate shocks, and mass displacement. According to the report, more than 17 million children are currently out of school across the country, with an additional 5.5 million at risk of dropping out. In the Amhara region alone, over 4.1 million children have no access to education. Droughts, floods, and conflict have destroyed infrastructure and livelihoods, with UNICEF identifying education as one of the most underfunded sectors in Ethiopia. Although programs like the World Bank’s GEQIP-E have reached millions, including training over 100,000 teachers, their impact remains limited given the scale of the crisis. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has warned that without immediate international intervention, the convergence of conflict, climate disasters, and funding shortfalls could result in “long-term developmental setbacks” that may take decades to reverse.
Calls are mounting for the government and the Fano armed groups to declare schools in conflict-affected areas as “zones of peace,” a recommendation supported by education advocates, humanitarian agencies, and civil society groups. These stakeholders argue that schools should be protected spaces where children can continue learning regardless of the broader political or military situation.
The United Nations and organizations like OCHA Ethiopia have also drawn attention to the dire humanitarian consequences of the education crisis, urging immediate intervention.