Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-23T21:48:59.521Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Language Policy and Language Practice: Implementing Multilingual Literacy Education in Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Christine McNab
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Addressing the issue of the extent to which the government of a country poor in economic and human resources for development can put into practice pluralist language policies for education. The discussion is limited to policy and practice in post-revolution Ethiopia, drawing on data collected in the mid-1980s (McNab, 1989). It is also limited to the literacy campaigns which, carried out in fifteen languages, have become a regular feature of the education system since their inauguration in 1979. The term literacy campaign as used in this paper includes the initial, remedial, and post-literacy classes which in Ethiopia are the basis of an integrated approach to literacy education.

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) is a developing country of socialist orientation. The population of Ethiopia is about 45 million. It is one of the poorest countries in the world; in 1984, the estimated GNP per capita was around $110 (World Bank, 1987). The population is predominantly (89 percent) rural, with agriculture accounting for about 50 percent of GDP, 90 percent of exports and 85 percent of employment (World Bank, 1987). Agriculture is the country's main potential resource for development but development is hindered by cycles of drought and famine and by the fighting in Northern Ethiopia and previously also in the Ogaden. Trading is well established, and a small modern sector has developed in the urban areas. There are, however, vast distances, rugged terrain, and wide variations in topography which make internal transport and communications difficult and thereby pose major obstacles to administration and economic development.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , December 1990 , pp. 65 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Eshete, Aleme. 1982 The Cultural Situation in Socialist Ethiopian. Paris: Studies and Documents on Cultural Policies.Google Scholar
Befakadu, Tesfaye. 1986 Interview with author. 1 October. (Tesfaye Befakadu, Head, EMPDA Textbook Production Division).Google Scholar
Bender, Marvin L., Bowen, J. D., Cooper, R. L. and Ferguson, C. A., eds. 1976 Language in Ethiopia. London: Ford Foundation Language Surveys.Google Scholar
Bhola, H. S. 1982 Campaigning for Literacy: A Critical Analysis of Some Selected Literacy Campaigns of the Twentieth Century, with a Memorandum to Decision Makers. Paris: Unesco (ED-82/WS/67).Google Scholar
Central Statistical Office. 1980 “Population, Labor Force and Housing Characteristics of Seventeen Major Towns: Results of Manpower and Housing Survey, 1978,” Statistical Bulletin 27.Google Scholar
Central Statistical Office. 1985a “Report on the Results of the 1981 Demographic Survey,” Statistical Bulletin 46.Google Scholar
Central Statistical Office. 1985b “Transport and Communication Statistics,” Statistical Bulletin 43.Google Scholar
Damte, Asfaw. 1986 Interview with author. 2 June.Google Scholar
Mammo, Gudeta and Gobena, Merga. 1984 “The Preparation and Use of Post-Literacy Materials in Fifteen Nationality Languages: A Background Paper.” In Working Documents: UPEL Workshop, 29 March-2 April 1984. Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Ethiopian Government. 1976 “Programme of the National Democratic Revolution.” In Basic Documents of the Ethiopia Government. Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Government.Google Scholar
Ethiopian Government. 1987 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, 1984: Analytical Report on Results for Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Government.Google Scholar
Greenberg, Joseph H. 1963 Languages of Africa. The Hague.Google Scholar
Kebede, Mammo. 1985 Interview with author. 4 February. (Mammo Kebede, Head, Department of Adult Education).Google Scholar
Last, Geoffrey C. 1983 “Letter to the Editor,” Unesco Forum (July).Google Scholar
Levine, Donald N. 1974 Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
McNab, Christine. 1989 Language Policy and Language Practice: Implementation Dilemmas in Ethiopian Education. Stockholm.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education (MOE). 1988 Project Proposal for Teacher Training by Distance Education. Addis Ababa: Ministry of Education.Google Scholar
National Literacy Campaign Coordinating Committee (NLCCC). 1981, 1983 Every Ethiopian will be Literate and Will Remain Literate. Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
National Literacy Campaign Coordinating Committee (NLCCC). 1986 The Ethiopian National Literacy Campaign and its Achievements and Prospects. Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Plan (UNDP). 1976 The Experimental World Literacy Programme: A Critical Assessment. Paris. World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1987 “Staff Appraisal Report: Ethiopia, Seventh Education Project,” Staff working paper.Google Scholar