Apartheid against Eritrean Professors in the Eritrean school system
By Fetsum Abraham In my last article, I discussed our sad and dangerous academic situation vis-à-vis all other Africans and specifically those in the East. You will find information about any university in the continent when you
By Fetsum Abraham
In my last article, I discussed our sad and dangerous academic situation vis-à-vis all other Africans and specifically those in the East.
You will find information about any university in the continent when you surf the Net but the following is what you will most probably see when you do it on Eritrea:
“Eritrea Universities and Colleges
There are no subcategories or links to display.
Experience: I grew up fascinated about the academic capacity of Eritreans that once dominated Addis Ababa University and used to wonder what the people academically can do after independence under the EPLF. Unfortunately, not only did the tortoise stop walking forward but it has been moon-walking backwards specially after 2003. As a Math teacher from Electrical Engineering background, I sometimes used to talk to new Eritrean refugees about school in restaurants and tend to test them on the most basic geometry called PYTHEAGORUS THEOREM, which is probably an 8th grade level Geometry in the US. To my resentment, I found the few kids that claim to have had high school education in Eritrea incapable of dealing with it: This was piece of cake for high school educated Eritreans back in the days.
Dr. Sara asks; ‘where would a college professor in the so called Eritrean colleges start to teach a student that comes there with extremely poor high school background? What do you do in English with one coming there without the knowledge of writing his/her name correctly and how much his GPA was?’
My question: Where do you start helping an Eritrean high school graduate in Math when the poor student cannot use PYTHEAGORUS THEOREM to tell the distance of a hypotenuse in a right angled triangle?
In so far as my grasp about the Eritrean education is concerned all the movements of UOA (University of Asmara) academic colleges out of Asmara were so disorganized to the point of disgust (Dr. Sara’s testimony). No one knew what should go where in the scattered colleges with extremely poor infrastructures to be considered schools. It was simply a chaos: the move was certainly not to promote higher education in Eritrea and teaching the kids to be constructive citizens of the societybut to accentuate a centralized government control for molding them towards unconditional obedience.
Dr. Sara said that the president is not the only cause of the problem but the system itself is. I fully agree: how can he do it without the opportunists who sold their individual freedom for personal advantages like Yemane Gebreab, Yemane Charlie (his advisor and, a person responsible for all the operations and all decision concerning all colleges) and the consecutive education ministers of the country immaterial who the current one may be?
Monkey indoctrinates Afwerkism, Charlie is a subtle worm that keeps on slaving unconditionally, and the minister/s of Education precisely knew what has been going on to the point.
The condition of women in the so called colleges (madabimada)
Dr. Sara testified that women are very few in number for seemingly symbolic image. She had a hard time expressing the condition of female students and employees in the so called colleges. She was emotional at times putting it as “very sad” when she tried to tell us that they don’t even have assistance (no offices to go for consultation): pregnant teachers work to the limit and transport back and forth from their homes till the last few days into giving birth. There is no leave of absence for them to secure their health and that of their babies. “You see them exhausted madabimada with sympathy from distance and helplessly live with it.”
I am not sure but I think I heard her say that there may be two or three Eritrean women professors left in the country where there is literally no higher education for students.
Apartheid against the native professors in UOA
It is crystal clear that Eritrea has been hell for us Eritreans and livable for foreigners because they have no obligation to meet the state requirements for citizenship (SAWA, etc). Ethiopians are more comfortable or in a better position there for example because they do not lose their kids for SAWA like the Eritreans. They conduct businesses normally while the remaining older Eritreans live in fear and extreme pressure from their government because of the networking nature of the 2% tax which now extends to abusing the rights of citizens with brothers, sisters or kids in the Diaspora.
Getting rid of the Diaspora through the 2% tax complications and enslaving the people through SAWA entrapment has made Eritrea the most difficult place for Eritreans to repatriate or live and one of the results is the staggering refugee crisis at hand. Can one conclude that Eritrea exercises apartheid against its people from this reality? Your answer is as good as mine would be.
The question is how the government treats educated Eritreans vis-à-vis foreigners for the same qualification and performance.
Discriminating educated Eritreans on the onset of liberation
EPLF was anti educated Eritreans in practice but had no capacity to avoid them during the struggle for independence. There are clear facts, however, that the creams of the society used to be bossed by unqualified and uneducated members of the struggle on purpose.
There were more than 25 overworked Medical Doctors directly serving the struggle as EPLF fighters but the president did not appreciate their outstanding collective effort after independence: he rather made it impossible for them to help the country like they did during the struggle.
Memory says that Sebhat Efrem was named the Minister of Health and the Chief of Stuff immediately after the Eritrean government was put to place after independence. Appointing the college dropout soldier for the Ministry of health position bypassing the qualified Doctors who equally served the struggle was nothing but an insult to the professionals and the society at large. Most of them left Eritrea at the end, Doctor Desbele, the head of the Eritrean Lens factory since the days of the struggle being the last to defect in Australia recently. Our country apparently has an inferior medical infrastructure today compared to the days of the struggle.
The government’s phobia against educated people is an all dimensional assault that expands to all fields of education.
Eritrea uses three methods of dehumanizing its intellectuals. The first is humiliation like what it did to the medical doctors in appointing Sebhat Erfrem for the health Minister of the country close to two decades ago. The second is intimidation like what Dr. Sara testified on the constant surveillance of the college communities through security personnel (sometimes referred to as Abalat) watching classes from outside through glass windows or through direct presence in the classes. The third is of course, by putting extraordinary economic pressure on them and openly discriminating them in relation to foreign teachers in the country.
On Quality of education in Eritrea (from the TESHAMO forum)
Q: How do you academically compare SAWA produced college students VS traditionally produced students from regular high school background?
A: There is no comparison between the two. The traditionally crafted college students used to be in hundreds in contrast to the SAWA produced morally hurt ones that number in single digits; yet incapable of handling the academic requirements of their cosmetic composure of education. She said the situation is still getting worse because “she had never seen a normal classroom arrangement for education” after UoA. The so called cream of society (best students) had a problem writing in English and neither could most of them individually answer similarly to the same question, meaning that they write something and give back the work load just to stay around.
Q: What are the students with degrees that we see in the media then?
A: The Professor answered this question realistically saying that the whole thing is confusing. The graduates with degrees have no educational substance of the claimed status. She said some students graduate faster than the ones who enroll in the so called colleges by passing the entrance exam. How can this be? She asked. In most cases kids with powerful relatives in the government graduate or pass their courses because of pressure from above on the teachers and arbitrary interference. She said that there are no legitimate graduates from those colleges in Eritrea and what we see in the media is targeted for nothing more than public consumption. Nevertheless, the students who fail the national exam go for some kinds of training in SAWA.
Eritrean style of recruiting foreign College Teachers
After a clue from Dr. Sara in TESHAMO, I went on researching and found few people who know a lot about the history of Eritrean higher education under this government. Here is the information:
“The recruitment of teachers is done this way.- staff from a ministry of education and the deans of colleges/ camps go to India and Pakistan and recruit teachers. A corrupt recruitment organization forwards the candidates to the staff and the deans recruit whoever they want. The candidates are not asked to pass IELTS (International English language test) as some countries like Ethiopian and Libya require it.”
Bribe in the management of this project (corruption)
“The Indians have said that they pay their recruiters. When they are in Eritrea they give gift to the deans. So if anyone complains about their work, it falls on deaf ears. Once they are in Eritrea there is no way their academic performance is evaluated or supervised. These foreigners go to an extent of hinting exam questions to their students, irresponsible invigilation during exams, to inflated grades”, says an internal source.
Discrimination between Eritrean and foreign college teachers
Professor Sara testified that; ‘During the “disorganized” movement of AU (UoA) departments/colleges out of Asmara, the foreign teachers were much better treated than the Eritrean professors. The buses had to serve them first at the expense of the native teachers that were served at secondary level of the arrangement. Until recently graduate assistants were not allowed to use the buses to and from Mai Nefhi at all. These young graduates are on national services salary and cannot afford bus fares. Doesn’t this remind you the Rosa Parks episode during the civil rights movement in segregated America that changed the face of the country once and for all the condition of native blacks in Apartheid South Africa?
On salary difference
The Professor said that, ““The salary of an Indian PhD (or one with a doggy credentials) rates between $1600-2400 and an Eritrean PhD, one who is not on national service rates 5300-5500 Nakfa gross and 4000 Nakfa net, meaning that the Eritrean salary becomes $100 at the rate of $1-40 Nakfa.
On top of this the [foreigners] have 5000 Nakfa housing allowance, meaning that a [foreigner’s] allowance is equivalent to the salary of an Eritrean professor.”
The rate of economic Apartheid here should then mathematically be 1600-2400% against the Eritreans.
Q: would you then conclude that Eritrea practices South African style Apartheid or American style racial discrimination against colored people against its people on the question of treating its domestic and foreign professors?
A: The Professor affirmatively responded to the question in my recollection, though I stand ready to be corrected.
Academic freedom and CONTROL
DR. Sara further said that social science oriented research is highly discouraged in the fake institutions that they call colleges. To worsen it, the government controls the movement of the native teachers at the presidential office level of the relationship; meaning that the office stays aware of their movements all the time. A professor that quits the job without an approved letter of resignation cannot work in other sectors (NGOs, etc) and can neither leave the country legally. This person looses the right of movement and employment in one’s country for just quitting a job without permission. One young man was pulled out of one of the UN offices because he did not have ‘the’ letter.
The Orota College of pharmacy employs “Cubans and Indians instead of Eritreans” who are meticulously conditioned to get lost out the academic scene. There were native teachers in Law department who left that college after getting tired of sitting idle for 3-4 years without students (no enrolment). The system demoralizes Eritrean scholars to stay away so that it can effectuate its policy of IGNORANCE without any challenge. In short, the colleges in Orota, Mai Nefhi and Adikeih teach junior high school level English to the very few students declared to have passed the entrance exam: One can expect the same to other departments.
The Professor’s assessment of the Diaspora in the resistance
Excuse the napping Eritrean intellectuals that are still indirectly helping the regime through fear or opportunism induced quietism (my conclusion), but the youth is energetic and willing to do something except that it has no direction and does not know how to navigate the direct call of our people for freedom. The youth “lacks the ability to communicate in a professional and strategically civilized manner”. It has the tendency to pollute common responsibilities by injecting personal grudges. The youth does not “tolerate each other” because it does not understand the concept of democracy. She said the Eritrean problem was “simple to solve through unity” but in vain because of the rigid and obstinate culture of the citizens in the resistance. She said that the youth has so far failed to initiate any practical motion towards unifying our forces scattered all over the world, says the Professor and affirmatively suggested that there is “help available from the very few intellectuals in the resistance including herself that can change the mentality of the youth democratically” but there is no drive to utilize this potential because of power struggle and lack of focus (my opinion included) needless to say that no one can twist the hands of the dormant intellectual brains into assisting the resistance except personal interest.
Stefanos Temolso July 2, 2013
THE INDIAN TEACHERS NOT ONLY PAID CASH TO THE DEANS BUT THEY ALSO PAID THE DIRECTOR GENERALS AND RECRUITERS AT THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SO THAT THEY CAN HIRE THEIR WIVES WHO HAD BEEN LEFT IN INDIA. THE POINT IS, THESE WIVES HAVE NO ACADEMIC COMPETENCY AS HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS LET ALONE BUSINESS COLLEGE TEACHERS. I KNOW A CERTAIN INDIAN LADY WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE A PHD BUT COULD NOT TEACH AT THE BUSINESS COLLEGE OF ASMARA (ASMARA COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL) AND HER SALARY THEY SAID WAS 2000 USD. IN OUR ERA THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF ETHIOPIA WAS FAMOUS FOR ITS TOUGH RECRUITMENT METHOD. THERE WERE EVEN INDIAN WHO TAUGHT ETHIOPIAN HISTORY TEACHERS BECAUSE THEY STUDIED IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT. AND HERE WE FIND OUR SO CALLED MINISTRY OF EDUCATION IN ERITREA ESTABLISHED BY WEIGERAHTU AND CO. IN TATTERS!!!
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Stefanos;
U would help the cause if you write something about this in assenna or if u share the information with a little more detail in this forum so that we can use it as a reference. TNX
TwoWayStreet July 2, 2013
Stefanos,
I hear you. You reminded me of one Indian teacher, who came to Asmara as a wife but later employed as a teacher in Management/Accounting during the 80’s. She was grading the students based on how many pages they wrote as an answer in their mid term and final exams. The more pages you write the higher grade you get. So students finally found out her method and started writing anything just to fill the pages because she was not going to read them all. So I understand the concern regarding Indian teachers in our country.
Araya-11 July 2, 2013
Dear writer I read your article most of the time, I appreciate your effort to explain the current situation in our country. as I have read this article it makes me to remind my weakness in education, I am a student in pharmacy school in USA, always I have a problem in my English especially while I talk,and all my classmate wonder while I ask or talk, but I dont have any problem on taken exam. I always keep complain the Eritrean curriculum especially the instructors. because I remember it was very shame to ask in English at middle school, if you do all student will laugh on you,and the instructor reply in tigrigna, which would make you understand easily. it is shame when I see graduated student from Asmara University required interpreter in immigration cases. so that curriculum has a great role, because 8th grade during Haileslissie regime talk fluent English.
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Araya;
Congratulations for sticking with school in the west. There is no0 doubt that u will make it if u continue sticking. But I am sorry for the damage doing to u at home though proud of u for choosing staying in school. I live in DC area and can help u in English and Math if u are around. Please feel free to contact me at fetsumraham@yahoo.com
Solomon July 2, 2013
yes, Dr. sara it is in deed a nice study on eritrean educaton but all could be true but some of or majority of the products are of yourself, your husband , the all your colliques u left in asmara, still the SMAp whic almost all your pople and friends . couuld please advice them to follow the right track
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Solomon;
can u be clearer on what u are saying and asking?
ahmed saleh July 2, 2013
It is sad but the true reality of Eritrea’s educational standard hit bottom to the lowest grade comparing international
academic level . Hgdf authority had never produced its own highly educated professional civilians except to build
strong military force on the region . Nobody knows their hidden agenda to deny the young generation to pursue his/her
study to achieve their dream of graduating from college , Do not get surprised if they hire foreigners on certain
branch of government offices to manage daily tasks in near future . I do not see promising hope to look forward but only to wonder deluded with fear for the country’s future .
Genet July 2, 2013
ahmed saleh
You are right, we are in a big trouble as people and country. You said, “I do not see promising hope to look forward but only to wonder deluded with fear for the country’s future” It doesn’t have to be like that. We need to speak up without fear. How long are we going to be scared to death? Fear of the current situation; fear of the future. FEAR, FEAR, FEAR.. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we Eritreans? We have been silent for ever. Now, we are saying we are afrad for our future. It is time for all Eritreans to stand up and face our enemy the dictator. His supporters need to come to their sences and stand up at the side of their people. After all, he, the dictator is not doing what he is doing alone. We can’t be silent any longer.
Genet
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Genet;
I like ur comment: fear is not the solution but unity is and I have no idea how long it will take for Eritreans to focus on this and what more we have to do to that effect. Hopefully it will click soon.
ahmed saleh July 3, 2013
If positive approach missed from the picture , yes , you will fear for its alternative which is negative .
Reading above article analysis about academic standard in Eritrea , don’t we fear to Eritrean future ?
I am not talking about daily activity personal fear but for the forgotten long term dream we all anticipated to own stable and prosperous Eritrea . Is their a light of hope ? NADA !
To clarify , my fear might start from antagonism reason from the evils on how the way the run the country .
Olana July 2, 2013
Dear All
Some times I wonder whether Eritreans alone are capable of doing anything concrete at all except complaining and complaining like a man crying alone in a house built in middle of a desert. Such kind of talk is not relevat at this time. I do not see any contribution to the Erirean struggle to topple down the dictator. This is the talk you should do when you have a new democratic government. No one will read this in Eritrea while people are hungry for freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of buying and selling what they like. Instead of spending hours and hours writing nonesense, please earn a few dollars doing some jobs for few hours and help the activists like the ArbiHarent who has been doing some visible activities.
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Olana;
U can not expect others to do it for u. U need to act by being pro unity aggressively from now on if u really feel what u said here. What can we do except communicating here until Eritreans fix their confusion on unity and accept it as the only solution to the problem. Are u doing something on u part?
TwoWayStreet July 2, 2013
Olana
I have seen some of your previous comments presenting yourself as an Ethiopian. So if you are an Ethiopian, I would be happy to read your comments regarding regional issues, African issues and other bilateral issues. When it comes to Eritrean and only Eritrean issues I would say it would be nice if you leave it to us, to Eritreans. For example this issue is regarding Education in Eritrea, it has nothing to do with your country.
Tanks for your interest.
Nahom July 2, 2013
Dear Ahmad
They don’t have any hidden agenda, their only and one agenda in every and each sector of Eritrean life is to produced robotic citizens in order to obey them blindly. PFDJ regime is working hard to create citizens that don’t see, hear, speak and think.
ahmed saleh July 3, 2013
Nahom
Our young generation are the sole owners of Eritrean future for stability and progress , In my point
of view , the only hope depends on their success either it be academically , technically and other
productive measures aside stupid politics . THAT IS WHAT I CARE MOST .
Genet July 2, 2013
Fetsum
Thank you for your hard work to get this info. out in the open.
I thtink, most of us have known all along, about Our country’s higher education status.
I don’t think, to any one who can read and understands, the difference between accredited colleges and community colleges, will be surprised by this news. As we have beeing doing for the past 20 years, we kept silent. I think we have beeing harboring this wishful thinking, what ever the problems, hopefully it will run its course. Now, 20 years later, we know, it didn’t. WHAT DO WE DO NOW??? I don’t think it is productive to attack the people like Dr Sara for speaking out now. Better late than never.
Fetsum, we have beeing involved in a discussion whether Eritrean intellectuals should be part of the straggle against the dictator, out in the open or not. Many Eritreans have their own take on this subject matter. Now, all Eritrean intellectuals can take the issue of highr education as their “BABY” and speak up. They need to take the lead and all Eritreans will follow. We all know, if one wants to kill a society one generation at the time, just destroy the education system top to bottom. That is what the dictator is doing. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC; OUR SURVIVAL AS PEOPLE AND COUNTRY DEPENDS ON IT.
Thank you.
Genet
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Geni,
I agree with u. they can at least initiate something based on the collapse of education in Eritrea. I am not sure why they have been and are still quiet. It is crazy out there
Yonas July 2, 2013
Dr. Fitsum,
Would you be kind enough to post the link to Dr. Sara’s interview? Much obliged.
fetsum abraham July 2, 2013
Yoni;
I am not a Dr but you can contact Danny at 646-489-392 to get direction to the cite.
Facts-ain't-Pretenders! July 2, 2013
One thing is for sure.
(i) Every diaspora Eritrean still individually & collectivelly refuses to take ownership of its big roles it played for what the end-result produced: the state of Eritrea and every mess from Education, to cultural mess, to lingua mess, to spiritual mess, to customs mess, to what not. The sad part, still today, the diaspora bickers while the nation is in the state of total tragedy. still dancing at conferences, still WezaHzaH!
(ii)Every educated Eritrean (that were seeing where things were heading ignored) individually & collectivelly and still refuse to take ownership of its big roles it played for what the end-result produced: the state of Eritrea.
Facts: within Eritrea
(a) Whichever way one with all kinda excuses show up, the few PFDJ shakers-n-movers didn’t do it alone. The majority of Eritreans knowingly and ignorantly helped the highly dynamic evil PFDJ. Gice due credit to the devil as it didn’t sleep to uncover and hack every Eritrean’s strength. The rest was history, as they say.
Facts: Diaspora
we still in May 2013, we were only 2000 of were in the street of DC and the same in other countries and states. is that all ? No. In our conferences, we still tend to dance. is this PRINCIPLE that can make us so serious to address a very serious tragedy!?
is this how we treat tragedy? is this how debtae tragedy? is this how prep ourselves tragedy? some of us say NO dancing and some argue NO we need to dance. WOW!
Millions of our people are trapped and we have an urge to drink, dance and bicker endless. Do we even understand what himanity is? Do we even feel the tragedy our people are in? or is it just that “guilt of social Obligation” that is just zapping us to the conferences or just to meet our friends and to mingle?
You cannot accuse me b/c the last 13 years have been the worst for our people. But this is our response mechanism!? I especially accuse those from Asmara and the cities as they should know better? How can all these Western educated Eritreans shy away at the tragedy of theor own people. How can that be? Are Eritreans a very cruel creatures. I suppose so!
Genet July 3, 2013
Facts-aint
I don’t think it is b/c Eritreans are particularly cruel creatures. But 22 years of opperession and living under constant pressuere of fear, we became selfish and lost our way of life and dignity. NOW THE QUESTION IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET IT BACK?
Genet