The Development of Education, Printing and Publishing in Ethiopia

Abstract

The history of education, printing and publishing in Ethiopia is not nearly as long as that of language, script and manuscripts. This article describes the importance of literacy, education, printing and publishing for the effective use of libraries and gives a detailed account of the development of these factors in Ethiopia. Until the 20th century, the Church was the only means of education in Ethiopia. This served the limited purpose of spreading the Christian religion but could not produce mass literacy. Developments such as education and printing began under Menelik II (1889-1913) who established the first school of Ethiopia in 1908 in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia's present day educational system owes much to the grave concern of Haile Selassie I (1930-1974). Higher education started in 1950 with the establishment of a university college in Addis Ababa. The Revolution of 1974 proved a springboard for further development especially in the areas of education and literacy. The literacy rate rose from 5% in 1974 to its current 65%. The printing of Ethiopian works, though, started as early as printing itself but in Ethiopia began in 1863 at Massawa. The first commercial printing press was introduced at Massawa in 1890. Most of these presses were used for printing newspapers, magazines, religious literature, government documents and the like but little use was made for educational material. At present there are about 25 presses in the country, but publishing in Ethiopia is essentially non-existent.