The working conditions of primary school English teachers in post-war Tigray, Ethiopia

This study examines changes to the working conditions of primary school English teachers following the Civil War in Tigray, Ethiopia (2020–2022) and ensuing humanitarian crisis. It draws on semi-structured interviews with 60 teachers in urban and rural schools in Mekelle (the regional capital), Bora (on the Amharan border), and Irob (an ethnic minority community on the Eritrean border). The evidence is viewed through pragmatic and critical lenses: the former pointing to technical solutions within existing institutions, while the latter recognises that conditions in schools result from intentional actions and political decisions. The study provides a conceptual framework of post-war conditions based on the testimony of teachers, and draws implications for educational recovery and reconstruction.
The study finds a stark deterioration in social and material conditions in schools (see Figure 0, below). There is widespread trauma and hardship amongst teachers and learners. Enrolment and attainment have collapsed, as has the popular belief in schooling as a means of individual advancement. Teachers feel a deep social responsibility for their work but lack necessary professional support and remuneration, and conditions are not in place for most learners to receive their educational entitlements.
While previous research has documented direct violence against educational infrastructure and personnel during the Civil War, this study shows that state violence continues through indirect, structural means. This is currently taking the form of ‘negative governance’ (Rose, 2014), or the strategic neglect of public welfare, infrastructure and provision. The devastation of the school system in Tigray is scholasticide and reflects ongoing state violence against Tigrayans as a people.