PRIVATE EDUCATION COSTS CLIMB FAST

Jun 29 , 2025.

Addis Abeba’s first rains have coincided with a sweeping rise in private school tuition, prompting the city’s education regulators to cap increases between 40pc and 65pc after most schools sought hikes of up to 263pc. Families earning the median urban wage face fees that can now top 6,500 Br a month, further eroded by rent, food inflation, and supply costs. Officials insist caps are necessary to tame “unjustifiable” demands. Yet, parents already juggling credit lines with corner shops fear they may have no choice but to transfer children to public classrooms. The dispute exposes a two-tier system. Of the capital’s 1,227 private schools, only 151 teach at the secondary level, enrolling 79,000 pupils against roughly 145,000 in public equivalents. National exams compound the dilemma. In the past two academic years, more than 95pc of Grade 12 candidates failed to reach the 50pc pass mark, exposing quality gaps that extend from kindergarten to university and prompting a ratings framework that links any future fee rise to exam performance.

Under a three-year scheme, each school is graded from “Centre of Excellence” to “at risk of closure”, determining the room it has to lift prices. Negotiations are meant to begin with parents; stalemates trigger arbitration by the Education & Training Quality Regulation Authority, followed by an appeals committee. In practice, parents have mediated down a 45pc rise to over 30pc, yet many fear fresh shocks before year-end as inflation remains in double digits. Private schools argue that the costs exceed the cap. Property owners typically demand 17pc to 20pc annual rent increases, forcing some schools to pay well over a million Birr a month for leased compounds. Chalk, paper and cleaning chemicals have doubled, and principals report funding “annual raises to keep teachers from leaving mid-term”.

Strains are visible in the public sector. Tuition fatigue led to 98,000 pupils entering state schools last year alone, prompting the city to invest 1.9 billion Br in high-storey blocks, as well as new ICT labs and cafeterias. Nationwide, the Education Ministry says 85pc of schools are below standard; its “Education for the Generation” drive has raised 135 billion Br over two years, building 6,815 schools and refurbishing tens of thousands more, yet capacity still trails demand. Experts warn that fee caps without parallel support risk throttling a sector that serves nearly half the capital’s pupils. Several argue that granting schools land leases or low-interest construction loans would cut overheads and tame future price spikes. Without them, closures could widen class sizes, erode quality and undermine public confidence in a system already stretched by surging enrollment and chronic underfunding.

PUBLISHED ON Jun 29,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1313]