A vendor spreads a variety of books for sale around the Arat Kilo area near the pioneer university in the country. Adult literacy rates are around half in Ethiopia, with growing numbers exiting the school system due to conflict. A wave of reforms by the Ministry of Education has brought both hope and uncertainty to both parents and students. With three percent of examinees passing university entrance exams and the exit exams for senior university students lurking about, a decline in the number of new entrants into the workforce is expected by experts. Insinuations by the federal government on the unlikeliness of new hires as part of a civil service restructuring have also cast doubt over employment prospects for many students grappling with insurmountable odds of finishing their education.

[ssba-buttons]