The Cultural Foundation of Education in Ethiopia

Abstract

Education should be an endeavor to introduce the desirable change into a culture
while steadily standing on it. It is like a mason who, first of all, lays the
foundation work and using the foundation as a working place and platform
continues further construction works upon it. The foundation serves both as a
facilitating ground as well as an important input for the additional construction
components. This is because on the one hand it is on the foundation that all the
movements start and take place and on the other hand the depth, width and
strength are essential inputs for further construction. That is the reason why one
can not think of a relevant and useful curriculum that is based on alien culture.
The very first statement of the Education and Training Policy issued in April
1994 reads: Education is a process by which man transmits his experiences, new
findings and values accumulated over the years, in his struggle for survival and
development through generations.