ABSTRACT
Despite ongoing efforts, data on early grade reading achievement in Ethiopian government schools are consistent in showing low levels of reading competency, at least since 2010. Once the situation is uncovered, why effective solution is not yet at hand? Analysis shows the problem has to do with the following issues: (1) language (script) diversity and underdevelopment of mother tongue languages for instructional purposes; (2) scarcity of reading resources in the different languages that have become media of instructions in different contexts; (3) cyclic problem in teacher education - candidates to teacher education are low achievers and are coached by language professionals, not by reading specialists; and (4) accountability coherence for learning outcomes is not yet in place - teacher activities focus on enrolment and non-instructional elements than on reading skill development as the case should be. Therefore, the situation calls for comprehensive, research-based and context/language-specific intervention schemes, accompanied by a clear system of accountability, not only for results but also with implications to invest in targeted policy, practice and research designs.
