Education quality is one of the key malaise in Ethiopia’s Education system. Fixing it is a priority to Dr. Berhanu Nega, an opposition party leader who was appointed as Minister of Education as PM Abiy Ahmed announced his new cabinet
borkena
Ethiopia’s new Minister for Education, Berhanu Nega, on Wednesday said “Focus will be on education quality to ensure a generation that is guided by knowledge.”
Dr. Berhanu, the leader of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Party – an opposition party, was confirmed as Minister for Education on Wednesday before the Ethiopian Parliament.
Broadening access to education across the country and quality of education are key priority areas and there is readiness for it,he told journalists in the capital Addis Ababa, as reported by Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
Identifying key problems related to the quality of education, which is fundamentally due to the education system, is among actions areas as the new minister is pursuing the goal of “bring about solutions to problems and improving the lives of citizens,” as reported by ENA.
“We have to fundamentally change education in this country in a way to ensure quality and elevate it to a higher level in order to create a generation capable of supporting the knowledge based economy of the future,” he said.
Dr. Berhanu is the leader of one of the key opposition parties in the country, and he was appointed to his current role while he is still leading the opposition party.
He does not seem to think that the political difference between his party, which is believed to be one focused on citizen politics as opposed to Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party which tends to be essentially a product of political bargains between ethnic based parties under the leadership of Abiy Ahmed’s now defunct ethnic Oromo party, and the ruling party stand in the way of bringing about change to the disastrous state of education in the country.
“Even though we have political differences, it is a must to work together when it comes to issues relevant to the nation,” he said. For Ethiopia to stand taller than the trying times it is facing, it requires standing together on national affairs, he added.
Under Tigray People’s Liberation Front dominated central government, Berhanu Nega was sentenced to death in absentia on alleged charges of “terrorism.”
After he left Ethiopia to the US following his release from prison in 2005, he formed the Ginbot 7 movement along with other politicians in exile like Andargachew Tsige, among others. He was also teaching economics at Bucknell University.
At one point, he had to abandon this teaching position to coordinate the armed movement in Eritrea after Angargachew Tsige was abducted from Yemen’s capital,Sana’a, in 2014.
Berhanu Nega ran during the last Federal Election in his riding in Addis Ababa but did not get enough votes to enter the Ethiopian parliament.
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Congratulations Sir! I wish you success in your new assignment to serve that love of our lives called Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, I heard that fire spitting patriot, Dr. Sileshi bin Bekele, who put el-Sisi’s delegation to shame is not part of the new cabinet. I’m gonna miss him a lot. I’m also over confident in him that various international outfits will be competing to have him as their expert employee. Thank you Sir for your valuable service to that gem of a country. You showed Ethiopians are not so easy pushovers. They have always been tough cookies during negotiations with foreign powers friends or otherwise. You had showed those ‘white supremacist’ wannabees in Al-Qahirah’ with such attitude they gonna have their worst nightmare at the negotiation table. I am very proud of you, Sir and I wish a rewarding future in your professional career henceforth.
Professor Berhanu is one of the most known politicians in Ethiopia. His sister in med school, his uncle at the university and his best friend Kassu Aboye might have made him determined to finish what they started since all of them were killed in their youth. He was imprisoned by EPRA once and by TPLF led gov’t twice. While he went to college in NY, he was leading some lose group of ex EPRP students under some monthly magazine. His friend from H/S meanwhile has become a prime minister under all powerful president and he came back home. By then a PhD and a lecturer of economics and married to Ethiopian born doctor, he decided to move back home for good. He became one of the best known researchers/writers/thinkers and he often wrote widely read articles on TOBIYA MAGAZINE. He also lectured economics at AAU and took classes at unity university while investing and running businesses of his family all at the same time.
At the national lottery hall, Dr. Berhanu and Prof. Mesfin W/M would lecture AAU students on students’ rights and obligations and go to jail for doing so. Later on both of them will form a Rainbow movement in which Judge Birtukan and many others joined in. The Rainbow would make KINIJIT out of older political parties and win the election of 2005 at each and every station where observers were at. And now there is no doubt KINIJIT won that election by landslide.
Dr. Berhanu became the first democratically elected mayor of Addis Ababa.
KINIJIT challenged the process and the result of that election while TPLF moved on a revenge on Addis Ababa’s status. The Americans and the Europeans panicked b/c that election meant a reversal of what they had in mind for Ethiopia. Ethiopian nationalism was still alive and kicking at that time and that was what KINIJIT won on.
Ethiopia is the only African country that doesn’t belong to French or British. Each and every African country still has some residue of colonialism. The Americans had a free ride with the TPLF led gov’t and they looked the other way when all the aid was stolen by TPLF former rebel leaders. Susan Rice had a very intimate relationship and was invited for what seems to be minor things in Tigray on the surface and to this day the videos are on you tube.
Berhanu and his kind of people are the exact opposite of TPLF. They take Ethiopia’s independence very seriously. With over a hundred million population and a great potential to grow in a new world of many other alternatives to American super power, many thought EZEMA could lead a coalition gov’t and get into a new era. But TPLF was not done yet. TPLF was working to form yet another ‘EPRDF’ with America’s help and try to come back to power. Some who led the uprising against TPLF fell for a ‘renewed TPLF effort’ but not Berhanu and his likes.
Professor Berhanu became the target from many directions and took the hit while Dr. Abiy struggled to form a new national defense force among many other things. Dr. Abiy called back Generals Bacha and Abebaw from retirement and picked the likes of Birtukan and Mustefe among others. The struggle was to win back Ethiopia but many missed the opportunity to help save the nation.
Some notorious people had no confidence in Dr. Abiy just b/c he came from a certain area. That was not lost in Professor Berhanu b/c he too comes from a non-traditional area. As a result EZEMA ran a campaign with one eye on the nation and the other on the enemy. For the masses it meant it was okay to vote for Dr. Abiy’s party. The enemy was training tens of thousands of ‘special force’ and bragging and EZEMA is a brand new territory. When confronted Dr. Berhanu openly defended the very guy he was supposed to replace. That is not how you do politics in Africa but this is Ethiopia becoming herself again after wasting almost half a century.
Ethiopia is a very unique country in many ways. Wars were fought for most of her history but the wars were among the regional rulers. There is no ethnic group that hates another group in Ethiopia. Today there are some politicians trying to say their political party represents a whole ethnic group. It is like a disease of a mind.
Berhanu has a lot of energy and this is his chance to change Ethiopia to a none ethnic national state for the next generation with a good quality education affordable. He went to public school himself and his father was relatively rich. Here is an idea: Forbid rich people from sending their kids to public schools even when public schools start to get better than most private schools in the near future and make private schools profitable and pay taxes and channel that to public schools in a win-win. Introduce sports and specially soccer back to schools, shut down weird schools built on 100 sq ft and don’t teach Amharic. or other Eth language in Addis. Oh my Berhanu is going to make a lot of new enemies soon b/c he likes to work and working is a sin in Ethiopia to this day.
There will be a lot of Mustefe’s, a lot of Birtukan’s and now a lot of Berhanu’s, tireless patriotic people working hard to make the lives of Ethiopian citizens better. They are all Abichu’s picks and they are great. And there is something else going on since Dr Abiy came to power. The charity work is becoming a culture. There are now thousands of local charities doing good things and the diaspora is just starting to get involved. Charity work has done miracles around the world for centuries and soon there won’t be ethnic divisions any more.
TPLF was the first party that declared entire ethnic group enemy on it’s manifesto.
I notjce many opposition on this guy and most from pro Ethiopia groups, wonder why? We know that let alone him, Tplf member is elected as defense minister, hmmmmmm. There was a lady with Egyptian flag (olf) as hair band who opposed that Dr Nega was not fit to be Educatiin minister. Unless he is the opposition of Kehedetu Ayalew she may ally with that is pro Tplf, wonder why? Most so called politicians, elected etc, have no interest about Ethiopia and her growth but group, political, ethnic, nepotism, negative competition and religious affiliation that has been tearing the country apart. These groups brainwash others to oppose their opposition, not for right reason but what l explained above.
Subject: “Education quality a priority for the new Minister, Berhanu Nega.” borkena.com, October 6, 2021
Humble Commentary, 8 Oct 2021
A very important subject — not only for Ethiopia but also for the entire Continent of our Black of AFRICA.
Let me be daring. The education system in the ENTIRE BLACK AFRICAN CONTINENT is a charred — and may even be defined as criminal too (with respect to its source).
The education given in Africa — ever since colonialist stepped on our Continent — is nothing less than a deliberate institution to brain wash the mentality of the AFRICAN CHILD — resulting [over time ] inferiority complex over the entire Black Race. It is called “brain washing ”. And Black Africa is perfect exemplary VICTIM of that cruel system.
How did I come to the subject? Well, I happen to read the news item at borkena.com with respect to the new election of Government Officials in Ethiopia. I noticed the election of the Ethiopia’s new Minister of Education, Dr.Berhanu Nega and I loved what I read about his vision for Ethiopian education system.
Reading a couple of paragraphes I was captured by the following words in two paragraphs
Quote: Identifying key problems related to the quality of education, which is fundamentally due to the education system, is among actions areas as the new minister is pursuing …
We have to fundamentally change education in this country in a way to ensure quality and elevate it to a higher level … Unquote:
I was delighted by the above intention. Warning: Perhaps I have slanted the idea.
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Humour
To finish off my feeling about education: I can not help thinking about the coincidence of the new Minister’s name : Indeed, “BERHANU. NEGA WOW! WOW! in the English translation: “Brightened Morning”