Addis Abeba- The Amhara Regional State Education Bureau has launched registration for the 2025/2026 academic year, aiming to enroll 7.4 million students, as millions of children in the region remain out of school due to persistent security challenges.
Mulunesh Dessie (PhD), Coordinator of the Social Sector with the rank of Deputy Chief Administrator and Head of the Amhara Regional State Education Bureau, said the bureau is prepared to register 7,445,545 students. Registration is scheduled from 25 August to 5 September, with classes set to begin on 16 September.
Mulunesh highlighted a steep decline in student enrollment across the region. "Due to the current instability in the region, 2.5 million students were out of school in the 2023/2024 academic year. In 2024/2025, 4.1 million students who should have been registered were out of school. This number is larger than the population of many African countries," she said.
Data from UNICEF shows that 4.4 million children in Amhara did not attend school during the 2024/2025 academic year, the highest number in Ethiopia. Over the past two years, armed conflict and insecurity have prevented millions of students from returning to classrooms, leaving many areas with interrupted teaching and learning.
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"Floods, droughts, the northern war, and the current state of instability have severely challenged the region's education system," Mulunesh added.
Getachew Biyazn, head of public relations at the bureau, told local media that the government is prepared to fully resume schooling. "We have allocated a large budget to train over 10,000 teachers and school leaders. More than 24,000 teachers have also received training through the Ministry of Education," he said.
The preparation comes against the backdrop of low enrollment in 2024/2025. The bureau had planned to enroll seven million students, but only 2.8 million were registered. A regional education forum in Bahir Dar in March 2025 highlighted that ongoing conflicts between armed groups and government forces continue to disrupt the education system.
Mulunesh warned that children out of school are increasingly exposed to migration, forced labor, substance abuse, and depression, adding that young girls, in particular, have been compelled into early marriage. She also noted that teachers, school administrators, and education professionals have been directly affected by insecurity, with many experiencing death, physical injuries, abduction, and property loss.
Local parents, concerned by low registration numbers, have launched campaigns using slogans such as "No child should be out of school" and "Building tomorrow through education today."
Officials warn that prolonged disruptions could create a generational gap. "Millions of students have been away from school. In the next 14 or 15 years, there may not be enough graduates from universities in this region," Getachew said. Mulunesh added that if the trend continues, it will deprive the region of an educated workforce, deepen poverty, and widen the generational gap.
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Demise Endris, Deputy Head of the bureau, reported in March 2025 that more than 3,600 schools in Amhara remain closed due to insecurity. Teachers and school leaders continue to face threats, including kidnapping, murder, and displacement. "The education bureau is deeply saddened that teachers are being targeted simply for teaching," he said.
The bureau estimates that over 112 billion birr will be needed to repair schools damaged by years of conflict and to resume educational activities, including rebuilding more than 400 schools in the East Gojjam Zone that were completely destroyed.
UNICEF's January 2025 report stated that over nine million children nationwide are out of school due to conflict, displacement, and natural disasters. The report added that more than 6,000 schools remain closed, and over 10,000 have been damaged or destroyed.
