United States Provides Textbooks to Ethiopian Children

The United States Aid for International Development (USAID) provides5.5 million English language text books for primary school children in Ethiopia.

USAID Ethiopia Mission Director, Dennis Weller, has handed over the books to Ethiopia’s State Minister of Education, Fuad Ibrahim, on November 29 at the Ministry of Education.

USAID’s Textbooks and Learning Materials Program (TLMP) developed the textbooks in cooperation with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education.  According to the press stamen from the U.S. Embassy in Addis, USAID printed the large amount of textbooks in order to allow every child in grades 2, 3 and 4 to have access to the learning material. Previously, USAID has developed, printed, and donated English textbooks for other primary school grades.

“These books will serve to improve the English language skills of students in grades 2 to 4 in over 28,000 Ethiopian schools nationwide, in support of the Ministry of Education’s General Education Quality Improvement Program,” said Mission Director Dennis Weller.

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University collaborated on textbook design, development, and production with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education.  The English textbooks are fully aligned with Ethiopia’s national curricula, culturally relevant to the Ethiopian context, and incorporate everyday themes, such as gender sensitivity and equity, hygiene, HIV/AIDS, and community responsibility.

“This partnership between the government and people of Ethiopia and the government and people of the United States to improve basic education started when USAID first came to Ethiopia 50 years ago. At that time the U.S. government has contributed to increasing access to primary schools, especially for children in hard to reach areas and girls, improving the quality of education, building the capacity of teachers, strengthening partnerships between the school and community, and enabling females to complete secondary and higher education,” said USAID Mission Director Dennis Weller.

The symbolic presentation ceremony was held at the Ministry of Education, in Addis Ababa, and was presided over by State Minister Fuad Ibrahim and attended by Regional Education Bureau heads along with officials from the Ministry of Education and USAID Ethiopia. The book donation is valued at almost 6 million US Dollars.