Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia
Supporting students’ transitions into further education and work
What is Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia?
Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia (LiTE) is a flagship national programme aiming to improve the transition of secondary school students into further education or the world of work by equipping them with relevant skills, knowledge, and attitudes.
LiTE is delivered by a consortium including Imagine1day, EDT, and Geneva Global Ethiopia, in partnership with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education and the Mastercard Foundation.
The programme supports education systems and individuals to recruit and develop Careers and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, in-service teachers, school leaders, and education officers. It also works with secondary school students in targeted schools across Ethiopia’s 12 regions and two city administrations. Students participate in tutorials, receive career guidance, and build key 21st century skills, including critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and digital literacy.
LiTE also creates opportunities for scholarships, enabling students to pursue higher education or technical and vocational courses, and enter the workforce with confidence and competence. The programme has a key focus on rural young people from under-served and disadvantaged communities, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and returnees, as well as girls and young people with disabilities.
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What does the programme aim to achieve?
LiTE aims to support the transformation of secondary education in Ethiopia through seven programme components, each with their own objectives:
- Recruit: Recruit and train 25,000 new Careers and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, with 50% of these being women.
- Train: Build the capacity of 42,000 secondary school teachers to deliver the competency-based curriculum with better integration of technology, gender, and inclusive education.
- Lead: Build the capacity of 2,400 school leaders and 450 education officials to deliver the competency-based curriculum. This component also focuses on increasing the number of women in leadership by training at least 700 female teachers in middle management positions.
- Motivate: Strengthen recognition and motivation for educators, establishing a system for rewards and incentives.
- Access and inclusion: Facilitate equitable access to quality education for 300,000 rural young people.
- Transitions: Ensure the successful transition of 500,000 secondary students to post-secondary education.
- Education ecosystem: Enhance the coordination and collaboration among key stakeholders in the education ecosystem to ensure long-term success and sustainability.
This work is ultimately expected to improve secondary education for over 3.5 million students.
EDT's role on Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia
EDT leads activities across Components 1 (Recruit), 2 (Train), 3 (Lead), and 4 (Motivate), including the development of teacher and school leader training modules.
However, delivery is underpinned by close collaboration between partners, who work together across all programme components. Alongside these thematic responsibilities, each partner is assigned a geographic delivery area. EDT is responsible for implementation in Oromia and Central Ethiopia regions, supporting 238 schools and targeting a total of 170,000 participants.
Frequently asked questions
What challenges is Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia addressing?
Despite progressive change and an ambitious transformation agenda for education in Ethiopia, bottlenecks remain, including:
- low enrolment rates for secondary school students (especially girls, refugees, and students with disabilities)
- low transition rates to either tertiary education or the world of work
- low teacher supply (especially female teachers), capacity, and motivation
- limited governance and leader capacity
- limited collaboration among key actors.
LiTE is tackling these challenges by improving teacher recruitment, training, and leadership development, expanding access to education for disadvantaged young people, and helping students progress into further education, training, and/or work. The programme also strengthens coordination across the education system to support long-term, sustainable change.
How does Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia align with the Ethiopian government’s education strategy?
Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia is guided by the Ethiopian government’s ambitious Ethiopia Education Transformation Programme, which addresses barriers to educational achievement and retention, enhancing the overall quality of education and ensuring that all children have access to effective learning environments.
We are delivering the programme in partnership with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, strengthening capacity while supporting the long-term implementation of the government’s competency-based curriculum and wider education reform agenda.
What skills will teachers and school leaders develop through Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia?
Through Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia, teachers and school leaders will develop skills in:
- modern pedagogy for delivering competency-based curriculum and careers and technical education (CTE)
- building subject-specific knowledge
- digital literacy
- gender-responsive and inclusive teaching
- instructional leadership.
Who are the participants of the Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia programme?
- Teachers
- School leaders
- Graduates trained as secondary school Careers and Technical Education (CTE) teachers
- Young people, particularly the most marginalised and disadvantaged
Let’s work together
Interested in partnering with us on this programme or in similar work?
Contact Tigist Tefera, Leaders in Teaching Ethiopia Team Lead
Tigist has over 20 years of experience in international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), spanning various programme management roles across education, child protection and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). She also holds an MA in Social Anthropology from Addis Ababa University.