Awra Amba RJ 300612 EN - Contacter un comité local d'Attac

5. Education
new library opened in August 2007 (see Picture 15). Yassin (2008/93) indicates a third library, of
medium size. The 1997 library is built, as most of the houses are, with wood and mud, its benches
and tables are made of stone, wood and mud, covered with plastic. There is no electricity in the
library (in 2010), which is open from 5 p.m. till dusk. Run by a librarian, the books are referred to on
site by the scholars and students of the village, and practically never by adults, who "have no time
for reading", we were told. This absence of reading by adults contrasts with the impression given by
Ya08/93 of wide access of community members to world cultures through the library, "manifestation
of their love of wisdom".
The library had in 2010 around 500 books, of which more than 90 % concerned languages and
natural sciences: there was hardly any literature, and practically no social sciences. Zumra considers
that technology is the most important subject and gives a lot of importance to practice: culture, social
and human problems are learnt in the community itself and especially from him, whereas technology
can only come from the outside. This almost exclusive fascination for the hard sciences and
technology seems to be quite unusual in Ethiopia (Jo10b/6).
Picture 15: The new library in April 2010.
Finally, the community has since 2012 a quite big room equipped with some chairs, so-called
museum. On the walls there are some large sheets on which are written some principles of the
founder and of Awra Amba. It is used as a meeting room (Crespo, 2012).
5.2. Public school
In Ethiopia, the primary education enrolment ratio is 84 % in 2007-2009 according to Unicef (2012),
although education is not compulsory (Ya08/43).
The public primary school where went Awra Amba children till 2009 was located at Maksegn, one
of the villages of the kebele of which Awra Amba is part (Question 35 in Annex). 18 teachers,
including 10 women, taught here around 1600 students of whom 75-80 were from Awra Amba
(Yi07/72 & 86). Since September 2009, an eleven-classroom school (level 1 to 8) has been opened
near the village (Picture 16). Since September 2011, two new classrooms opened, corresponding to
level 9 to 10 (Crespo, 2012). It corresponds to a primary school (first cycle, level 1 to 4), a middle
school (second cycle, level 5 to 8) according to Yi07/8, and a secondary school (level 9 to 11, this
last level should open in September 2012).
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