Vol. 1 No. 01 (2022): Managing the Ethiopian Education Systems amid Emergencies: Lessons from COVID-19 Global Crisis

This study, which was based on the Pragmatism research philosophy, sought to
determine the extent to which the COVid-19 global pandemic had disrupted the
school system in the SNNPR and the Oromia Regional States of Ethiopia. Both
quantitative and qualitative data strands were collected simultaneously using an
embedded research design. The surveys were completed by 268 teachers and 575
pupils in order to determine the level of disturbance and the strategies in place.
In addition, 10 school principals and 10 Wereda education office heads took part
in the interview. The study identified that the CoVID-19 global pandemic has
significantly disrupted (F=3.76829, P<0.05) the education systems in the above
two regions. The government’s policies and tactics to avert the scenario were not
properly executed at the grassroots level. As a result, in order to solve such an
unusual educational crisis, this study developed an integrative model incorporating
system variables, administrative variables, academic variables, and student variables.
Therefore, this study recommends challenging ‘reinventing the wheel’ by applying
diversifying teacher training practices, improving school-level technologies, and
adapting emergency responsive education policies at the school level.