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SOLOMON YIMER
THE severe and worsening drought in Ethiopia’s Oromia region has impacted school retention as pupils are forced to drop out of school to support their parents in the search for food, pasture, and water.
More than 5,000 students from different zones of the region have been forced to drop out of school due to the devastating drought, the regional education office announced on 13 March.
The drought has affected schools in Bale, Arisi and West Hararge zones, resulting in the closure of 18 schools.
The Oromia Education Bureau has provided over USD 200 000 to help support damaged schools and bring the
students who have dropped out back to school.
An additional USD 26 000 was paid in salaries. On top of that amount, USD 93 000 has been given to support the damaged schools, while about USD 37 000 has been used to purchase a water tank.
Despite these efforts, the situation remains dire for many affected by the drought, and this is not the first time
the drought has caused students to drop out of school in Ethiopia.
Two weeks ago, the Education Office of the drought-hit Borana Zone of the Oromia region in southern Ethiopia said more than 7,800 students had been forced out of school as the impact of the drought got severe.
According to the office, 174,000 students enrolled in 490 schools in the zone have been affected by the
drought, resulting in a significant decline in their results. This is despite the regional government’s efforts to introduce dormitory and school feeding services to mitigate the impact of the drought by allocating over USD 800 000.
Meanwhile, children were forced to drop out of school due to the drought in the Konso Zone of the southern
region. Out of the 73,000 students attending 119 schools in the area, 13,000 have dropped out since last
January, Deutsche Welle reports, citing the zone’s education department.
The Department of Education also indicated that the admission process had been started in 85 schools to allow
the students to continue their studies with financial support from Save the Children. According to data, nearly
three million people have entered the food aid framework due to the drought in the southern region.
Ethiopia’s drought continues to worsen following five consecutive failed rainy seasons and the looming “lean
season” (the period between harvests), with the southern and eastern parts of the country mainly affected.
According to the latest report from OCHA, 11 million people out of 24 million living in drought-affected areas
are estimated to be food insecure, and about 6.85 million livestock deaths since late 2021.
As of February, 379 schools across 71 woredas in the Somali Region were closed due to the prolonged drought,
with 81,556 students dropping out of school. In general, the recent drought has disrupted the education of 1.6
million children, including close to 500,000 forced out of learning, according to data from Education Cannot
Wait (ECW).
INSIDE EDUCATION