Universities in the Tigray region announced that they would soon begin paying their staff members’ salaries. The universities informed “Ethiopia Insider” on March 1 that 2015 had granted them permission to pay the Ministry of Finance’s outstanding salary arrears and one month’s operating budget.
Four universities in the Tigray region are under the control of the Federal Ministry of Education. These four universities no longer offer courses due to the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
These universities are Mekelle, Axum, Adigrat, and Raya.
According to “Ethiopia Insider” interviews with Mekele, Axum, Raya, and university leaders, the war in northern Ethiopia has prevented the payment of salaries to university staff for the previous 20 months. The senior administration of Mekele University, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about the issue of unpaid salaries when staff members and representatives of the Ministry of Finance met.
The Ministry officials remembered their response, which was that the decision would be made at the same meeting, taking into account the other civil servant. The president of Axum University, Prof. Gebreyesus Birhane, stated: “We were told that there is a decision that the government will make in special circumstances” at the same meeting. He was referring to the federal agency’s answer to the query regarding unpaid employee salaries.
According to the decision made by the Ministry of Finance one month following this meeting, the budget has been made available for the salaries of university employees. According to “Ethiopia Insider,” the four universities, which are federal institutions, have received funding from the Ministry of Finance. According to ministry sources, money has not yet been sent to the Tigray region because the interim administration has not yet been established.