Ethiopia
It has been a daunting challenge for sub-Saharan countries that account for more than one-half of OOSC worldwide. Ethiopia has shown remarkable improvement in primary education level in the period of 2007 to 2017. A study reveals that the net enrollment rate (NER) has grown from 82% to 99.4% in the year 2017. The stats have been encouraging but still, Ethiopia is listed in the top 20 countries that is facing high children dropout rate or kids who are not going to school.
According to the UNICEF report: “Grade repetition and high dropout rates in Oromia region are particularly worrying, as they affect a huge number of children. Some of the causes include the high demand for child labour by rural households, child marriage, abduction of girls, the long distances to school, climate change (children on the move, internal migration), drought, internal and external conflicts resulting in displacement, resettlement, increased children in street situations, and poverty.”
In 2018, more than 45% of children till their official age were still not in the second cycle of primary education. Philanthropy advising firms Geneva Global are working on “Speed School” program in Ethiopia is educating out-of-school children to help them join or rejoin the primary school.
