THE STATE COMES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

Mar 7 , 2026.

Education Minister Berhanu Nega’s (Prof.) push to remake the international schools has opened a fierce contest over curriculum, identity and parental choice. These unsettling families pay heavily for globally recognised pathways. Elite schools in Addis Abeba were established for expatriate and diplomatic communities, but now serve overwhelmingly Ethiopian families. For parents, whether children will be compelled to attend different schools, follow a different curriculum, or take unfamiliar national examinations is the immediate, practical and costly fear. The Ministry insisted it is not inventing a new reality, but responding to one in place.

Although branded “international,” these schools are now dominated by Ethiopian students, teachers and administrators. Officials claim 83.5pc of students are Ethiopian nationals, while 95pc of teachers and 97pc of administrative staff are Ethiopian. Of 46 schools carrying the label, only six are said to meet prescribed international standards, with about 21,000 students enrolled across the subsector. Under “Curricula Plus,” the national curriculum would become the main framework, with international programmes retained only as a supplement where the local system is judged to lack depth. That formulation has done little to calm parents. Many chose these schools precisely for stronger pedagogy, English-language instruction, and internationally competitive standards, and now fear that these attributes may be diluted. Some argue that if the state intends to balance national and foreign curricula, it should first raise the national curriculum to a comparable standard before layering it onto demanding programmes. Anxiety has deepened with the abrupt requirement for some students to sit the national Grade 8 examination, previously optional in many international schools.

Officials argue that the change will not erode competitiveness, noting that the revised national curriculum is competency-based and oriented toward practical application, vocational training, ethical education, and indigenous knowledge. Yet the meeting with parents and PTA representatives on March 4, 2026, made clear that the policy would proceed and that discussion concerned implementation, not reversal. Parents questioned the legal basis and threatened court action. The Minister responded that curriculum design and enforcement fall squarely within his mandate. The schools serve a tiny fraction of the 19.5 million students, but command prestige, charge up to more than two million Birr a year, and collectively generate over 10 billion Br. The new rules threaten not only their international label but also the business model and social status attached to it.

PUBLISHED ON Mar 07,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1349]