Date of publication:

01/07/2026

Ethiopia

Do domestic laws and policies provide for primary and secondary education to be available to forcibly displaced and stateless persons in an appropriate language?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Analysis

The Refugees Proclamation, under article 24 (1), entitles refugee children the same treatment as nationals with respect to primary and pre-primary education. Hence, any policy applicable to nationals with respect to medium of instruction is also applicable to refugees. According to the Education and Training Policy of Ethiopia (February 2023), primary education will be given in the mother tongue of the children. 

Moreover, mother tongue instruction for early grades (pre-primary and primary) is one of the strategies adopted in the Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) VI (2021-2025) to support students’ literacy progress. To achieve this, ESDP adopted the following objectives: develop pre-service and in-service education and training for native language teachers, design principles of academic mentoring in native language, prepare standards, manuals, guidelines, strategies, and conduct various studies to improve native language a teaching, as well as monitoring, support, and evaluation. Therefore, under these frameworks, refugee children are entitled to access primary education in the language they understand. 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    Refugees Proclamation No.1110/2019

    Legal provision

    Article 24(1) Access to Education

    Every recognized refugee or asylum-seeker shall receive the same treatment as accorded to Ethiopian nationals with respect to access to pre-primary and primary education.

    Education and Training Policy of Ethiopia - Amharic version - 2023

    Legal provision

    Education and Training Policy of Ethiopia, February 2023, p.8

    The children’s mother tongue will be taught as a subject and used as a medium of instruction starting from pre-primary education. Education and Training Policy of Ethiopia, February 2023, p.8

    Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP VI, 2020 – 2025)

    Legal provision

    ESDP VI, 2020 – 2025, Page 94

    Develop a strategy for incorporating refugees into the secondary education system; Provide in-service training for teachers in refugee camps; Invest in school infrastructure and teaching and learning materials in refugee camps and host communities.

    Programme 4 Access to general education, equity and internal efficiency, Component 2, Page 90 .

    Strategy: Expand basic education for refugees and displaced populations,