Ethiopia: Tigray Education Bureau Decries 'Pattern of Drone Destruction'

Addis Abeba — The Tigray Education Bureau has accused the Ethiopian government of intensifying attacks against the region's education system, saying a series of air and drone strikes in 2026 has destroyed schools, damaged educational facilities, and injured teachers and their families as Tigray prepares for the upcoming academic year.

Discover morePolitical commentary forumLocal newspaper deliveryTigray humanitarian aid In a strongly-worded statement issued in Mekelle on 27 August, the bureau described a continuing "pattern of destruction" targeting Tigray's schools, teachers, and students, saying that the latest attacks were aimed at preventing the resumption of education in the region.

Tigray region news The bureau said the destruction of educational institutions was part of a broader campaign that began during the war in Tigray in 2020 and had continued in an intensified form during the 2025/26 period.

"The primary reason for intensifying airstrikes targeting schools and teachers specifically this week is that the registration period for the upcoming 2026/2027 academic year has arrived," the statement said.

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Media consulting services "By preventing teachers and students in Tigray from going to school," the bureau alleged, the attacks were being used as "an execution strategy to achieve the mission of destroying the future of Tigray."

The bureau listed several incidents that it said occurred during 2026.

According to the statement, an airstrike in January hit Zalaqme Primary School in Kola Tembien woreda, completely destroying four classrooms and student drinking water facilities. The bureau said the damage prevented 432 enrolled students from returning to school.

Addis Ababa real estate Discover moreAfricans & DiasporapoliticalPoliticalAddis Ababa real estatewarDaily news updatesExecutive BranchCurrent events newsletterPolitical analysis subscriptionTigray region news On 10 August, a drone strike hit Merewa General Secondary School in Raya Alamata woreda, damaging four classrooms and educational equipment and affecting the planned return to school of more than 800 students during the upcoming academic year.

The bureau further said that the airstrike on 20 August targeted teachers' residential housing in Hawelti sub-city in Mekelle, leaving more than 14 teachers and family members with severe and minor injuries.

Red Sea trade The attack, according to the bureau, also completely destroyed homes that teachers had built through loans obtained from financial institutions, along with household property.

In the latest attack cited in the statement is the drone strike on 26 August hitting Gejet General Secondary School in Seharti woreda, destroying classrooms and 35 computers provided through the World Bank-supported General Education Quality Improvement Program for Equity, known as GEQIP-E or the 3R program.

Tigray region news The school served about 500 students, according to the bureau.

Another drone strike conducted after the statement was issued also destroyed Abraha Weatsbaha Primary School in Kilte-Awlaelo district in the night hours of Thursday. In a statement posted on Facebook, Kiros Guesh (PhD, head of the region's education bureau said the facility had recently been expanded with new classrooms built by Plan International Ethiopia for early childhood care and development, with support from the European Union.

Online news portal Beyond the physical destruction, the bureau accused authorities of undermining the education system through measures affecting teachers and students.

It said teachers' monthly salaries have been withheld since October 2025, and that the move was intended to prevent educators from continuing their work.

Red Sea trade The bureau also raised concerns over the administration of Grade 12 examinations, saying that more than 15,000 students in Tigray who were expected to sit for paper-based examinations were instead required to take exams online.

When the bureau objected, it said, a different examination was prepared and administered at a separate time, which it described as causing "comprehensive harm" to students in the region.

Tigray region news The allegations come against the backdrop of a prolonged and devastating crisis in Tigray's education system, which has struggled to recover from the combined effects of war, displacement, drought, hunger, and economic hardship.

Addis Standard, previously reported that the education crisis in the region had been building for years. In early 2024, the Tigray Education Bureau warned that more than 222,000 students in 625 schools across drought-affected districts were at risk of dropping out because of severe food insecurity and starvation.

The bureau said at the time that the crisis was compounded by the aftermath of the war, erratic rainfall, and locust infestations, leaving thousands of children facing the prospect of abandoning their education amid worsening humanitarian conditions.

Online news portal By October 2024, only 40% of Tigray's more than 2.4 million eligible students had registered for the academic year, according to officials. The education system continued to be disrupted by displacement and war-related damage, with more than 106 schools being used as shelters for internally displaced people and over 500 schools remaining outside the bureau's control in areas held by Amhara and Eritrean forces.

The war also severely affected Tigray's education workforce. The number of teachers fell from nearly 46,600 before the war to fewer than 32,000, while schools across the region lost classrooms, equipment, and learning materials.

The crisis persisted into 2025, when the bureau reported that nearly 1.2 million children, representing about 46% of the region's school-age population, remained out of school.

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According to previous assessments by the bureau, the war damaged 88% of classrooms, 96% of desks, 97% of blackboards, 85% of computers, and 87% of plasma televisions used for instructional purposes.

The bureau also previously reported that about 2,146 members of the school community were killed during the war, including 1,911 students, further weakening the region's capacity to rebuild its education sector.

The latest drone attacks on schools and teachers add another layer to what education officials in the region have repeatedly described as a struggle to prevent the emergence of a lost generation in Tigray.

In its latest statement, the bureau called on international institutions and the wider international community to intervene.

"On behalf of the children of Tigray," the bureau appealed for the international community "to understand these horrific atrocities being committed against Tigray's education system, to put a stop to these evil acts, to condemn those responsible, and to hold them accountable."

Tigray region news The bureau also renewed its call for support to rehabilitate and reconstruct damaged schools, provide healing and development programs for teachers and school leaders, develop catch-up curricula, expand education technology solutions, and establish school feeding programs.

Neither Ethiopia's federal government nor the federal Ministry of Education had commented on the drone strikes as of publication.