If you are a student in Ethiopia and make it through your 12th grade classes you are in a small minority. The only obstacle for attending a university is the National Exam. Getting to this final step took a lot of time and hard work. It means you passed the 8th and 10th grade National Exams and finished the last two levels of schooling. It would seem a high percentage should be able to pass it. Now imagine yourself taking this exam in your third language. Yes, students in Ethiopia must take their exam for physics, chemistry, biology and civics in English. They also have their national and regional language exams.
I was in Ethiopia last summer when the results were posted. Only 20% of the students passed their 12th grade National Exam. Only two students from the village of Denkaka passed. A student ranked 3rd in his class missed the cut off score and is now finished with his education. This was devastating for these individuals. It was obvious that even though the students knew the subject matter, they hadn’t acquired enough understanding of English to master the difficult courses.
After much prayer and discussion we believe not only is it important for the children to attend school but we must also look at their future needs. We have now hired a tutor in English for the children. The students meet multiple times a week after school and over the weekend to attend their English class. Our goal is to enhance their knowledge of the English language in order to prepare them for their future exams.
