A School in Crisis: Lycée Guébré-Mariam’s Betrayal of Franco-Ethiopian Educational Ideals

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An Ethiopian Tribune Investigation

By E Frashie

The recent board meetings at Lycée Guébré-Mariam (LGM) have laid bare a troubling reality that many parents, teachers, and stakeholders have long suspected: Ethiopia’s premier Franco-Ethiopian educational institution has devolved into an elitist enclave that brazenly disregards the very principles upon which it was founded. What began in 1947 as a beacon of bilateral cooperation between Emperor Haile Selassie and French statesman Édouard Herriot has transformed into a troubling symbol of educational inequality and administrative corruption that serves neither Ethiopian students nor the spirit of Franco-Ethiopian partnership.

The Broken Promise of Accessible Excellence

When Foreign Minister Aklilou Habtewold prompted Emperor Haile Selassie to initiate discussions with France’s National Assembly president Herriot in 1947, the vision was clear: create a secular, French-international education hub that would serve Ethiopia’s post-war educational needs whilst fostering genuine cultural exchange. It was Aklilou Habtewold’s diplomatic foresight that recognised the potential for educational cooperation between the two nations, setting in motion what would become one of Africa’s most significant Franco-African educational partnerships. The school officially opened its doors on 15 March 1948 under the Mission laïque française (MLF), with Ethiopia contributing prime land in central Addis Ababa and an annual subsidy of 100,000 Ethiopian dollars, whilst France provided 208,000 Ethiopian dollars for operational costs.

Today, that vision lies in tatters. Recent board meetings have revealed tuition fees that have spiralled towards half a million birr per child annually, effectively pricing out the very Ethiopian families the institution was meant to serve. The current fee structure of 954,064–1,033,697 Ethiopian birr per year (approximately $16,500–$18,000 USD), coupled with a staggering one-time admission fee of 551,305 birr, represents a grotesque departure from the school’s founding principles of accessibility and bilateral cooperation.

A Tale of Two Teachers: Institutional Racism in Plain Sight

Perhaps nowhere is the school’s moral bankruptcy more evident than in its shameful treatment of local Ethiopian teachers. Despite many of these educators holding qualifications from prestigious French universities and institutions, they are systematically undervalued and underpaid compared to their white French counterparts who enjoy “all the perks and benefits” of their privileged status.

Local Ethiopian teachers earn a paltry €1,145 per month, when they’re paid on time, compared to their French colleagues who receive substantially higher compensation aligned with French state salary scales, comprehensive benefits packages, and job security. This represents not merely a pay disparity but institutional racism of the most brazen sort. Ethiopian educators, many of whom studied at the Sorbonne, Sciences Po, or other elite French institutions, find themselves relegated to second-class status in their own country.

The irony is particularly galling: Ethiopian teachers who were educated in French universities and possess the very qualifications that should make them valued partners in this bilateral educational project are instead treated as inferior substitutes for their European counterparts. This has created a brain drain where talented Ethiopian educators, recognising their worth, abandon LGM for organisations that value their contributions appropriately.

The Scholarship Mirage and Elite Capture

The school’s recent introduction of a “10% scholarship programme for low-income Ethiopian students” represents nothing more than tokenistic window-dressing designed to mask the institution’s fundamental elitism. When 90% of admissions remain accessible only to Ethiopia’s political and economic elite, this modest gesture serves primarily as a public relations exercise rather than genuine reform.

The scholarship recipients themselves become unwitting participants in a system that perpetuates inequality. Many of these bright Ethiopian students, upon completing their education and receiving scholarships to study in France, choose not to return to serve their homeland. This brain drain is a direct consequence of the unfair employment practices they witness at LGM itself, why would talented individuals return to a system that systematically undervalues Ethiopian expertise?

Stagnation Masquerading as Success

Despite decades of operation and substantial financial investment from both governments, France currently contributes €4 million annually whilst Ethiopia provides ongoing subsidies and infrastructure, LGM has shown a shocking lack of ambition in expanding access to quality education. The school remains stubbornly confined to its original Addis Ababa campus, making no serious effort to establish branches in other parts of the capital or throughout the country.

This geographic limitation represents a fundamental betrayal of the bilateral agreements between France and Ethiopia. What was envisioned as a model for educational cooperation that could be replicated and scaled has instead become an exclusive club serving fewer than 1,800 students in a country of over 120 million people.

Governance Failures and Administrative Chaos

The school’s institutional rot extends beyond pay disparities and access issues to fundamental governance failures. Recent years have witnessed a carousel of leadership instability, with four directors in four years, alongside troubling incidents including drug trafficking cases and child safety failures. French diplomats, once proud advocates of the institution, now reportedly prefer British and American schools for their own children, a damning indictment of LGM’s declining standards.

The board’s recent meetings have revealed an institution more concerned with protecting the privileges of its expatriate staff and maintaining its exclusivity than addressing the legitimate concerns of Ethiopian stakeholders. Parent resistance to fee hikes has been dismissed, teacher grievances ignored, and calls for transparency rebuffed.

A Diplomatic Gambling Token

What emerges from this investigation is the uncomfortable reality that LGM has become little more than a “gambling token” for French diplomats a prestigious posting that enhances careers whilst contributing little to genuine educational development in Ethiopia. The institution serves the narrow interests of French cultural diplomacy and provides comfortable positions for expatriate educators, whilst failing in its fundamental mission to serve Ethiopian students and foster meaningful bilateral cooperation.

The school’s governance structure, dominated by French administrators and Ethiopian political elites, has created a closed system that resists accountability and perpetuates corruption. Resources that should benefit Ethiopian education are instead diverted to maintain the privileges of a select few.

The Path Forward: Alumni Action and Accountability

The solution to LGM’s crisis lies not in cosmetic reforms or tokenistic scholarships, but in fundamental restructuring that honours the school’s founding principles. Alumni of the institution, many of whom have achieved prominence in Ethiopian society and international affairs, must take responsibility for holding both Ethiopian and French officials accountable for their stewardship of this important institution.

Specific reforms must include:

Immediate salary equity for Ethiopian teachers, with compensation and benefits matching their French counterparts based on qualifications and experience rather than nationality.

Transparent fee structures that reflect the school’s status as a bilateral educational project rather than a for-profit enterprise serving only the elite.

Genuine expansion through the establishment of satellite campuses in regional centres, funded through the substantial resources already committed by both governments.

Democratic governance that includes meaningful representation from Ethiopian teachers, parents, and civil society rather than the current closed system dominated by diplomatic and political elites.

Accountability mechanisms that ensure resources are used for educational purposes rather than maintaining expatriate privileges.

Conclusion: Reclaiming a Stolen Vision

Lycée Guébré-Mariam’s current trajectory represents a fundamental betrayal of the vision shared by Emperor Haile Selassie and Édouard Herriot nearly eight decades ago. What was conceived as a bridge between cultures has become a barrier to educational equity. What was intended as a model of cooperation has devolved into an exercise in exploitation.

The Ethiopian people deserve better. The Franco-Ethiopian partnership deserves better. The dedicated teachers and eager students caught in this dysfunctional system deserve better.

It is time for all stakeholders, Ethiopian and French alike, to acknowledge that LGM in its current form represents a failure of the highest order. Only through fundamental reform that prioritises Ethiopian educational needs over expatriate privileges can this institution reclaim its rightful place as a symbol of genuine international cooperation.

The choice is clear: reform or irrelevance. The students, teachers, and taxpayers of both nations who have invested so much in this institution deserve nothing less than a complete transformation that honours the noble vision of its founders whilst serving the educational needs of contemporary Ethiopia.

The time for half-measures and diplomatic niceties has passed. The time for justice and accountability has arrived.