ETHNO-REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLING IN ERITREA, 1992-2001 EPHRAIM TEWOLDEBRHAN EPHRAIM A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape. November 2007 Supervisor: Professor A. Fataar i KEY WORDS ERITREA PRIMARY EDUCATION ACCESS EQUITY EFFICIENCY DISPARITIES REGION SUB-REGION ETHNICITY ii DECLARATION I declare ETHNO-REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLING IN ERITREA, 1992-2001 is my own work, written under the supervision of Professor A. Fataar. I submit it to the University of the Western Cape for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil). It has not been previously submitted, either in part or whole, for any degree or examination at any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete reference. Signed: __________________________________ Ephraim Tewoldebrhan Ephraim Date: November 2007 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Praise be to God the almighty who enabled me to complete the thesis against all odds. To Prof. Fataar, this thesis would not have been possible without your kind financial and moral support, incisive critiques, sharp probing questions, and remarkable patience. I feel extremely privileged and grateful for your guidance and friendship, which shaped the way I think as a scholar. Your comments on each and every chapter drafts were a course in critical thinking upon which I will always draw. I am grateful for your encouragement and inspiration in many moments of despair and self doubt. I would also like to thank the family of Prof. Fataar for their cordial reception and generous hospitality. I am indebted to Najwa Norodien Fataar for sparing me her lap-top computer during the entire four months of my stay at the University of the Western Cape. I would also like to thank the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the Faculty of Education of the University of the Western Cape and my many friends for their financial assistance. I would also like to thank all the staff at the Faculty of Education of the University of the Western Cape. I would especially like to thank Mrs Estelle Maart for her friendly reception and kind assistance with printing and photocopying my draft thesis chapters. My gratitude goes to the Minister of Education Ato Semere Russom, Ato Petros Hailemariam, Director General of the Department of Research and Human Resources Development and Ato Hailu Asfeha Director of the Research Division for expediting my exit visa processing and supporting my travel to the University of the Western Cape to finalise my thesis. iv To my siblings, Dehaba, Awate, Letebrehan, Nigisty, Leah, Andeab, Mihret, Militetsega and Ruth, and their wonderful families, thank you very much for your love and support. To my wife Aster and my children Kendel, Tecleab, Hellel and Ismet, this thesis belongs to you. I thank you for your understanding, support and encouragement. I could not have finished the thesis without you. I dedicate this thesis to my late parents Tewoldebrhan Ephraim Sultan and Tegbaru Tesfazghi Ugub who would have been proud of my achievement. Rebi jennet lahabekum. v ETHNO-REGIONAL DISP ARITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLING IN ERITREA, 1992-2001 E. T. Ephraim DPhil, Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape November 2007 ABSTRACT Eritreans have been subjected to limited and unequal education provision throughout their hundred years of colonial history. It was expected that in post- independence Eritrea education provision would be equitably provided to all the regions and ethnic groups in the country. Employing document analysis and unstructured in depth interviews with various stakeholders in education this thesis presents an account of the state of primary schooling in Eritrea between 1992 and 2001. The focus of the thesis is on understanding disparities in provision in primary schooling with particular emphasis on ethno-regional disparities and what precipitate these inequalities. The reason for the emphasis on region and ethnicity in analysing schooling provision was because of the country’s multi-ethnicity and the over-lapping of regions and ethnic groups. The thesis employs macro-structural forces (national conditions, state policies, and global forces), family factors (socio-economic status, structure, and resources), school factors (inputs, processes and organisation) and community factors (structure and resources) and the interplay between them as conceptual framework to understand ethno-regional disparities in education and how it evolved over time. vi The thesis argues that although the government has done remarkably well in its attempt to address the educational inequalities that it inherited from the country’s colonial past, a lot remains to be done and many disparities are still in place. The thesis further argues that ethno-regional disparities in school access in Eritrea are historically located. The thesis points out that political favouritism and deliberate neglect of certain regions and ethnic groups during the colonial periods created educational imbalances. In addition, the thesis discusses the role of state and household level poverty, scattered habitation patterns and low demand and under- utilisation of educational provision by some sections of the society in ethno- regional disparities in education. With regard to educational inefficiency, the thesis indicates that the system level inefficiencies are related to education financing and language in education policies. It also shows that the disparities in internal inefficiencies as manifested by repetition and drop outs are due to children’s home and cultural background deficiencies, differences in school inputs, the way school and society are organised, and the individual child's attitudes, interest, motivation and self- concept. The thesis concludes that Eritrean primary schooling is regionally, intra-regionally and ethnically inequitable. It reveals that the national educational averages hide regional inequalities which vary substantially. The thesis further concludes that regional educational averages unless broken down further can mask considerable intra-regional disparities in education. With regard to efficiency, the thesis shows that Eritrean primary schooling is inefficient at both the national and regional levels with the lowland regions and schools that use ethnic minority languages being more inefficient, and argues that in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies where ethnicity, religion and region coincide, understanding ethno-regional disparities in educational provision is very critical. November 20007 vii LIST OF ACRONYMS BMA: British Military Administration CRC: Child Rights Convention ECD: Early Child Development EFA: Education For All EPLF: Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front ESDP: Education Sector Development Programme GER: Gross Enrolment Ratios GOE: Government of Eritrea HDI: Human Development Index ILO: International Labour Organisation IMF: International Monetary Fund IPRSP: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper MOE: Ministry of Education NER: Net Enrolment Ratios NRS: Northern Red Sea SRS: Southern Red Sea UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UNESCO: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNICEF: United Nations International Children Education Fund UPE: Universal Primary Education WB: World Bank viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page I Key words ii Declaration iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract vi List of Acronyms viii List of Tables xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. General background and rationale for the study 1 1.2. Aims of the research 4 1.3. Main research questions 5 1.4. Framework of the research 6 1.5. Research design and methodology 7 1.6. Structure of the study 14 CHAPTER TWO: CONCEPTUALISING ETHNO-REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN EDUCATIONAL ACCESS 17 2.1. Introduction 17 2.2. Education for all: an overview 18 2.3. Universal primary education 21 2.3.1. Quality versus quantity in primary schooling 22 2.4. Ethno-regional disparities in education: an overview 24 2.5. Attributes of ethno-regional disparities in education 27 2.5.1. Historical factors and ethno-regional disparities in education 27 2.5.2. Global economic factors and ethno-regional disparities in education 29 2.5.3. Local factors and ethno-regional disparities in education in education 31 2.5.4. Family factors and ethno-regional disparities in education 32 2.5.5. School factors and ethno-regional disparities in education 33 2.5.6. Ethnic factors and regional disparities in education 35 ix 2.5.7. Socio-economic factors and ethno-regional disparities in education 38 2.6. Conclusion 39 CHAPTER THREE: EDUCATIONAL PROVISION IN COLONIAL ERITREA 42 3.1. Introduction 42 3.2. Educational activities prior to colonialism 43 3.3. Missionary schooling in Eritrea, 1840-1941 45 3.4. Schooling provision during the Italian colonial period, 1890-1941 51 3.5. Education provision during the British Military Administration, 1941-52 59 3.6. Education provision during the federal period, 1952-1962 64 3.7. Education provision during the Ethiopian colonial period, 1962-1991 68 3.8. Conclusion 72 CHAPTER FOUR: POST-INDEPENDENCE MACRO-EDUCATIONAL REFORMS 75 4.1. Introduction 75 4.2. The Eritrean educational context: strengths, challenges and constraints 76 4.2.1. Low access and equity 77 4.2.2. Low quality and relevance 80 4.3. MOE education reform efforts 82 4.3.1. Improving access for poor, rural children and girls 86 4.3.2. Expanding physical capacity 87 4.3.3. Decreasing repetition and improving efficiency 88 4.3.4. Revising the curriculum and improving textbook production 89 4.3.5. Training and supporting teachers 90 4.3.6. Devolving the Ministry’s functions and offices 91 4.4. Constraints of implementing educational reforms 93 4.5. Conclusion 96 x CHAPTER FIVE: ETHNO-REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL ACCESS IN ERITREA 97 5.1. Introduction 97 5.2. The state of primary school access in Eritrea: an overview 100 5.3. Regional disparities in Eritrean primary school access 105 5.4. Intra-regional disparities in Eritrean primary school access 109 5.4.1. Intra-regional disparities in primary school access in the N.R.S region 110 5.4.2.