Modern education in Ethiopia introduced by Emperor Menelik II, who first opened the government school named Menelik II School in 1908 with proclamation issued in 1906. Despite being progressive, the modern education met with opposition from clergy and priests from Orthodox church, primarily the Coptic Orthodox. By 1913, provincial schools were expanded to Harar, Dessie and Ankober.
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The opposition decreased by 1920s and subsequently Emperor Haile Selassie opened Teferi Mekonnen School and made hallmark of modern education since 1930. Haile Selassie helped to establish Ministry of Education and introduced European schools; French, Arabic, and Italian and English became the predominant languages of instruction during the era. American advisor Ernest Work introduced the first educational cycle consisted of 6 years of primary, 6 years of secondary, and 4 years university education.
During the Derg regime, new education policy enacted embracing socialist ideology and chartered by the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) in 1976, further elaborated five volume policy documents known as General Directives of Ethiopian Education produced by the Ministry of Education in 1980. The literacy rate was increased by this era compared to Haile Selassie regime, enrollment increased from 224,934 in 1959–1960 to 1,042,900 in 1974–1975, about 15% per annum.[1]