Mr. Tesfamariam Yohannes Woldemichael was born on September 27, 1935, after completing his elementary education in Segeneiti, he was among the first batch of Eritrean students allowed to go beyond the 4th grade, which had been the limit imposed by Italian colonialism. He attended Biet Gergish in Asmera and completed middle school there. He then completed teachers training and started working as a teacher in both Asmara and Segeneit

It is worth mentioning that very few students who completed elementary or middle school in the 1940s got opportunities to pursue their studies outside Eritrea, in Ethiopia, Khartoum, Cairo and Beriut, to mention a few of them:

• Dr Bereket after completing his elementary education at the Haile Selassie I Elementary School went to Addis Ababa.  He was a student at The Wingate School (an Elite school). Dr Bereket in his book the Crown and the Pen wrote (page 58), In the Spring of 1947, the headmaster decided to create a fourth grade calling in the Matriculation Class. He consulted with the teachers and selected four of us to be in that class. The four were Kahasi Tesfai, Tesfalul Tesfa, Woeku Habtewold, and myself. Out of four, three of us passed in all the required subjects and one (Worku) was referred in English. In the Spring 1949 all of them went to England. Dr Bereket received his LL.B. and Ph.D from the University of London.
• Dr Seyoum Haregot was also one of those students who attended elementary school at the Swedish Evangelical Mission in the early 1940s and then moved to Sudan to attend high school at the Comboni Preparatory College in Khartoum. In 1954 he received a BA degree from the American University of Beirut and   Juri Doctorate from the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1957.
• Osman Saleh Sabbe  in 1944, after completing Koranic studies, he joined the Hirgigo Charity School  built by Pasha Kikia who in 1950 sent him on a scholarship to Addis Ababa where he attended the Medhane Alem School.  In June 1956, he took the General Certificate of Education Exam of the University of London and continued correspondence education.  In 1959 he obtained a B.A.degree in History and Political Science.
• Amanuel Andemicael was the first group of Middle School candidates from Mendefera in 1946. During the British Administration, the level rose to Middle School in many places. In 1946 middle schools were opened providing more access for students to continue their education beyond their elementary education in Eritrea.  Amanuel after completing the middle school probably moved to Ethiopia to pursue his studies. In 1960 he went to the Harvard Law School at the age of 27 as a visiting student from Eritrea. He had received only rudimentary legal training at home in a period of political upheaval. And although he lacked a formal bachelor’s degree, he was invited by HLS to stay on and gain an LL.M.
• Eritrean Gradutated Doctor Goitom from Germany
• And other students: Dr Yassin Aberra, Cavalier Nurhussein Hassen and Dr. Saleh Kebire  who graduated  from the American University of Beirut with Dr Seyoum Haregot  [source Jelal Yassin in 1954.

LtR. 1. Saleh A. Kebire, 2. Dr. Seyoum Haregot, 3. Yohannes ? "Ethiopia", 4. Yassin M. Aberra. - The American University of Beirut - Lebanon 1952. Picture Courtesy of Jelal Yassin

Habte Teclemariam provides this piece of information regarding the above picture on facebook. It was during the Federation that they were granted Point Four Scholarship through the Eritrean Government and it was Asfaha Wolldemichael as the Chief Executive who sent them there. Dr. Seyoum relates that he had begun studying at Addis Ababba University but discontinued it to go to Beirut, where he got a BA degree and then attended graduate school in Syracuse before he moved to Harvard for the JD degree.

Habte Teclemariam also adds in his comment on facebook. Rebina Yerhamuhoum, Dr Yassin was young and very energetic. He was a legend in his own life time. He got his first dgree from the American University of Beirut. The man you see sitting next to him is the one who sent them there. Seyum Haregot, Yassin and Saleh Kebire were sent to AUB. Dr. Yassin got his Ph.D from a German Univrsity, I forget what school he went to but he did tell me at one time that he was at Heidelberg. .

Generally speaking the British Administration in Eritrea contributed a great deal toward the  development of education between 1942 and 1951. Regarding this Woldeyesus Ammar,  states that the British care-taker administration (1941-1952) promoted education and this policy was continued by the Eritrean Government formed under the federal arrangement. 

During the Federation Period with Ethiopia the enthusiasm for education that was aroused during the British Administration continued. There was an increase in recruitment of teachers, student enrollment and expanding education beyond the grade 8th. This section covers an overview on the progress made in promoting education by the Eritrean government    between 1952 and1962.

Secondary level education

Haile Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS) Credit: Dr Teame Mebrahtu

Haile Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS) the first secondary school to be established in the mid-1950s was funded directly by the Ethiopian government in Addis Ababa. It cost about one million Ethiopian dollars.  The school was the most modern type ever created on Ethiopian soil.

During its early years, Haile Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS)   was the best endowed and largest secondary school in Eritrea, with both day students and boarders. Ravinder Rena( 2004]   Haile Selassie I Secondary School was originally in tended as a boarding school for 450 student; but later, due to the increase in student population and a growing demand for secondary education, the plan was changed. The dining hall and dormitories were converted into classrooms and the capacity of the school was increased to accommodate about 1000 day school students (Taye, 1990, page 81).

As mentioned above Haile Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS) was a boarding school in the 1950s, according Teame all pupils who had successfully Grade 8 throughout Eritrea, took another exam to gain admission to a brand new scondary school in Asmara. It had just been built on the the instructions of the Emperor and named after him-the Hile Selassie Secondary School. The striking looking modern building far outshone the Scuola Vittorio which perhaps was what the Emperor intended. Critics argued that it was a propaganda execise designed to win hearts and minds in a region where he was not popular. Glass fronted, it was built on a hill and could be seen from all over the city. The Emperor was rumoured to have paid for the building himself as a gift to the people of Eritrea. It had attractive dormitories, shiny toilets and shower rooms and the student borders were given three course meals-far in excess of what Eritreans would normally eat.There had never been a school like it in the country. Just fifty-six out of two hundred and fifty students pass the exam to go there Teame was one of them. The results were published in the government newspaper.

There was an impressive opening ceremony with bands playing and many guest including the student's families and local dignitaries. Teame was registered in Grade 9. He discovered a few days later that some students from Grade 10, 11 and 12 at Scola Vittorio who had also gained places without having to pass an examination, had been put in Grade 10 at Haile Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS). Teame never discovered why but suspected the authorities wanted to send out a signal that the Ethiopian curriculum was of a higher standard than the Eritrean version.

The school headmaster was a Canadian, with an Ethiopian administrator and the teaching staff made up of British, Indian, American and Ethiopian academics. Lessons each day started with an Ethiopian flag hoisting ceremony-something the Eritrean students disliked. source Hazell, Stan, 2017 pp40-41

Prince Mekonnon Secondary School

After the opening of the secondary school  many students from the provincial town were forced with considerable difficulties in their pursuit of secondary school education in Asmara and thousands of students had to discontinue their studies for lack of accommodation there.  To solve this problem, the second secondary school was called Prince Mekonnon Secondary School was opened.

The Prince Makonnon Secondary School (PMSS) was the only one funded by local sources (Connell, 2011, page 426). Initially, this school was one of the middle schools in Asmara. Grade nine was opened for the first time in 1956-57. Then step by step the school reached grade 12. The running cost of Prince Mekonnon Secondary school was maintained by the Eritrean government. [ Taye 1990, page 82)

Connell( 2011, page 426) adds that a third , the Camboni Scholl for boys, was privately funded and operated by the Catholic Church.

Based on the Ethiopian Journal of Education published 1974, the total enrollment in Eritrean secondary schools for the year 1961-62 was 795 and 53 male and female respectively [Taye, 1990, page 83].

Table 1.:   Percentage increase of Enrollment, Teachers and Schools (1956-57 to 1959-60)

  Source: A historical survey of state Education in Eritrea( Taye, 1990  page.103)

Generally prior to 1962  the number of students and teachers were higher  in Eritrea than in the other provinces of Ethiopia (Table 1). This could be due to the dedication of the local communities in the construction of school buildings and employment of teachers during the  British and Federation periods. Taye [1990, page 102.] also states that during British and Federation period there was a high rate of community involvement in the construction of school building and employment of teachers. As a matter of general interest, the Eritrean people undertook the heavy burden of investment in Education. Consequently , all in all, the rate of educational development was faster in Eritrea than in any other part of the Empire. This is clearly shown in table 1.

.

2. Tertiary level education

 Santa Famila University/University of Asmara

The University of Asmara  ( known as the Santa Famila University) was officially established on 20 December 1958 by the Missionary Congregation Pie Madri della Nigrizia of Verona, Italy, and the courses were in Italian. The purpose of the taught courses was to prepare students for the final year of study in an Italian University (Laurea. In 1959, the university was recognized by the then Eritrean Government
During that year Degiatch Hadgu Ghiliagabir, Degiatch Zerom Kifle, Degiatch Fessahaie Tesfamichael, and Fitawrary Mikael Hasama Raka submitted a petition to the Vatican for financial aid to build a university in Asmara. This was handed over to the "Nunzio Apostolico," who was on a visit to Asmara in 1959.

The proposal was favourably considered and the Santa Famiglia Institution entrusted with the job of building the university, which was completed and started operating in the 1970s.   Although it received the approval of the emperor and the grant of $40,000 aid per year, the Ministry of Education refused to recognize the university and it remained unrecognized until the fall of the regime. (Mikael Hasama Raka 1984)

Gottesman, Lespp (1998, pages 81-8 )also states that the Italian community in Asmara, historically hostile to Eritreans obtaining an education, conspired with the ministry of Education to prevent the university's campus being built. Eventually, the university's lawsuit won on appeal and the building was completed.

In 1960, a pre-university one year programme entry into the University was recognized by the Superior Council of the Italian University and in 1962 it changed its name from the Santa Famila to the University of Asmara after obtaining recognition from the Ethiopian government.
In 1964  the Emperor Haile Selassie attended the ceremony of laying the first stone in its Main Building. The University College was inaugurated offering in 1964 Associate Diploma programmes in arts, commerce and science.  In that year, English was adopted as the medium of instruction in addition to Italian.  The university made good progress in the enrolment of students.  In the late 1960s udents numbers exceeded 1,500.  In 1964, there had been only 486 students. 

Haile Selassie presenting diplomas to graduating students at the University of Asmara, published in the Kagnew Gazelle in 1969 sourceSkip Dahlgren facebook

Asmara University History and Contributions

by Dr Chefena Hailemariam

This is a Summary of Dr Chefena’s presentation at the Inaugural meeting and annual celebration of Asmara University Alumni Society in the United Kingdom (AUAS-UK) London 17 July 2016

Seid Hussein

ሰዒድ ሁሴን መራሒ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ አብ ካይሮ ካብ መስረትታ ተሐኤ ን ቀዳሞት ተጋደልቲ፡ ብ1963 አብ ሰንበል ነፉሪት ከቃጽል ፈቲኑ ተታሒዙ፡ ብ1975 ተሐኤ ተፈቲሑ ብ1978 ድማ ብተሐኤ አብ ደንካሊያ ተቀቲሉ

ክበብ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ አብ ካይሮ

ክበብ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ አብ ካይሮ አብ ጥሪ 21 1852  ተመስሪቱ እቲ ክበብ ወግዓዊ ወኪል ኤርትራዊያን  ዜጋታት አብ ምስሪ ብምኻን ብመንገዱ አቢሉ ዩ ማህደረ ትምህርቲ ዝረክቡ ዝነበረ.. ኣብ ትሕቲ ሓልዮት ኤምባሲ ሃገር ኤርትራ አብ ካይሮ ብዕለ 25/01/2002 መበል 50 ዓመት ዝኽሪ ምምስራት ክበብ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ አብ ካይሮ ሕጽር ዝበለ ታሪክ ናይቲ ክበብ ብመልክዕ ቡክለት ተዳሊዉ ነይሩ:መሐመድ ፉይድ አብ ሐምሳታት ሚኒተስር ዜና ግብጺ ዝነበረ አብ ኢትዮጵያ ክኸዉን ንፕሬሲዳንት ናስር ከም ዝሐተተ ፕሬሲዳንት ናስር ግን እቲ ጉዳይ ነተን ናጻ ምምሕዳር ዘሎወን ትካላት ትምህርቲ ግብጺ ከምዝምልከተን አቡኡ ኢዱ ከም ዘይእቱ ሐበሮ ይብል መሐመድ ፉይድ:: ዶክተር አል ስይድ ፍሌፍል ዲን ማእከል ምርምርን መጽናዕትን አፍሪቃ አብ ዝኽሪ 50 ዓመት ናይቲ ክበብ ዘቕሮቦ ጹሑፍ ከም ዝሐበሮ እቶም ነዚ ክበብኣ ሓሳብ ክበግሱ አንክለው ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራውነት ምርኩስ ብምግባር ኤርትራ አካል ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ክም ዘይኮነት ንዓለም ክፍልጡ ዝወስድዎ ተበግሶ ማአክል ምንቅስቃሶም ነይሩ ይብል

ዶክተር አል ስይድ ፍሌፍል ብተወሳኺ ግብጺ ንኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ ክትቅበል እንከላ ብዘይ ሃይማኖታዊ አፈላላይ እስላማይ ናብ አል አዝሃር ክርስትያን ድማ ናብ ቤት ክርስትያን ተዋሃዶ ብምልአኽ ትሰርሕ ከም ዝነበረት ይሕብር በዚ ድማ ከም ንህዝቢ ግብጺ ሐድነት ብምኽባር ዝሰረሐት ንኤርትራዊያን ሃገራዊ ሐድነት አብ ምድልዳል ተርአ ከም ዘበርከተት ይሕብር:: ወከልቲ እቲ ክበብ ኣብቲ ብ1959 ኣብ ባንዶግ ኢንዶነሺያ ዝተጋበአ ዋዕላ መንእስያት አፍሮ ኤስያ ብምስታፍ ብዛዕባ ጉዳይ ኤርትራን ኩነታት ህዝባን ስፊሕ መብሪሂ ሂቦም

ዝርዝር አስማት ናይ ውሕዳት አባላት ናይ ቲ ክበብን እቲ ብሕጽር ኢሉ ቀሪቡ ዘሎ ሐበሬታ አብ ላዕሊ ካብ ቋንቋ ዓረብ ብመሐሙድ ዑመር ጭሩም ብ2002አምባሳደር ናይ ኤርትራ አብ ካይሮ ዝነበረ ኢዩ ተተርጊሙ.

ዝርዝር ኣስማት ናይ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ አብ ምስሪ አብ 1950s ዝማሃሩ ዝነበ

• ቀዳሞት መስረቲ ክበብ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ ብ1952

ዓብደላ ኽያር

ኣልኣሚን ዑስማን ኣልኣሚን

ዑስማን ኢብራሂም በሽር

መሐመድ ብርሃን ኑር ሑሴን

ዓሊ መሐመድ ጃስር

በሽር ሳልህ

መሐመድ ሸሪፍ ሳልህ

አድሪስ ዓብደል ዓለም

ዓብደል ቃድር ሐጎስ

መሐመድ ዜን ሐሰን

የስሪ በሸር ኢብራሂም

ዓብደላዓብደልራሕማን

• ኣብ ቦርዽ ክበብ ኤርትራዊያን ተማሃሮ ብ1959 ዝነበሩ

መሐመድ አለ ጠይብ እስማዒል

መሐመድ ጣሃ አሕመድ

ስሊም ሐስን ኩርድ

ዑስማን ሳልህ ዳንዳን

ስዒድ ሑሴን መሐመድ

ሱለይማን መሐመድ ዓብዱ

መሐመድ ኢብራሂም ኑዕማን

አድሪስ ክሊፋ

ሱለይማን መሐመድ ኣሕመድ

መሐመድ ዑመር ዓሊ

ዑስማን ስይድ ኣደም

ዓብዱ ኣልኣሚን መንስዓይ

ዓብደል ኻልቅ ሐምድ

መሐመድ ዓሊ ዑመር

Eritrean students pursuing higher education at the American University of Beirut

In the 1950s, there were  also more than 800 Eritrean students pursuing higher education at the American University in Beirut :

Sium Haregot graduated in 1952

Yassin Mohamed Aberra, graduated in 1952

Cavalier Nur Hussein, graduated in 1952

Saleh kebire graduated in 1952

Beyene Haile graduated in 1963 in public administration and political science.

During those periods many Eritrean students had also access to secondary and university level education in Ethiopia or were granted scholarship to study abroad, to mention a few of them :

• Dr Seyoum, the son of Dej. Haregot Abbai and Woizero Lemlem Gebrekidan was born on October27, 1932 in Arabate Asmera, the ancestral home of his family. He did his pre -school at Haleka Ugbandrias school in Edaga Arbi and kingergarten, first at Scola Vittorio and then at  Acria Italian School, just at the end of the Italian rule of Eritrea. He attended elementary school at the Swedish Evangelican Mission and high school at the Comboni Preparatory College in Khartoum. He received a B.A degree from the American University of Beriut in 1954 and a Juris Doctor from the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1957.
• Kidane Keflu one of those first students who joined the  Haile Selassie I Secondary school in 1957 after completing the secondary school he joined   the then Haile SelassieI University in Addis Ababa in1961  At the University he started in the Arts faculty majoring in Political Science. Two years later he joined the Law School. Humble and charismatic, Kidane Kiflu is known for his quick mind, courage and political cunning, traits that became tools for his political activities
• Osman Saleh Sabbe after completing Koranic studies in 1946, joined the Hirgigo Charity School (Changed to Emperor Haile Sellassie I School in 1950) built by Pasha Kikia who in 1950 sent him on a scholarship to Addis Ababa where he attended the Medhane Alem School. Later on he joined a one-year teacher’s training course and upon graduation in September.  In 1954, he became a teacher in Hirgigo School and in 1955 became the director of the school. In June, 1956 he took the General Certificate of Education Exam of the University of London and continued correspondence education.  In 1959 he obtained a B.A.degree in History and Political Science.
• Omar Jabir was born in 1945 in Ali Ghidir where he studied elementary and middle schools before moving to Port Sudan to complete high school. In 1962, he enrolled at the University of Khartoum after which he left for Baghdad, Iraq
• Idris Glaidos joined school in 1942 and finished his elementary school education in Algidir in 1947.  Later, he was sent with three other classmates, namely, Mohammed Saleh Yasin, Said Ahmed Mohammed Hashim and Osman Ali Ahmed to continue his middle school education. In 1951 he was awarded with some other Eritrean students an Egyptian scholar-ship to continue his studies in Cairo. 
• Naizghi Kflu was born to Mr. Kflu Bahta and Mrs. Imuna Woldeabizgi in February 21, 1941 in the village of AdibUr, Seraye. He attended (elementary and middle school) in Mendefera and completed middle school in 1956. He then went to Addis Abeba to further pursue his education and after four years of high school, was able to attend the Teacher Training at Debre Berhan and graduated within a year, in 1961. For a few more years, he served as a teacher in Ethiopia.
• Dr. Jaber was born in the village of Ali Gidr, in the province of Qash–Setit in western Eritrea in 1938. He attended elementary school in his village, and then moved to the central city of Keren for secondary school. He later migrated west to Sudan, where he studied in Hantoub High School in the Jazeera area of Central Sudan. Afterwards, he briefly lived in Cairo, Egypt, and in the early 1960s, he moved with his best friend Khalifa Osman to Europe to look for opportunities for higher education. He eventually settled in Italy, where he completed his schooling. Although his father helped him with his finances, Dr. Jaber still worked at night, while studying during the day.He began his college education in the University of Modena’s School of Medicine in Northern Italy, near the city of Bologna.

  Development of professional education

1. School of Nursing/Nurse Education

Nurse education in Eritrea has a history that goes back to 1923  when a course for nurses was started by Swedish Evangelical Mission.(SEM). There was also nursing education for Italian Camboni nuns.  However, when Eritrea was mandated by the British Administration in the 1940s, there was no substantial change in the health delivery system or nurse recruitment. At that time there was an Eritrean nurse, Mihret Paulos Men’ Ameno who graduated in Jerusalem and served with the British army in World War II. 

In 1952 the Eritrean government created an Eritrean health department which took over the operations of the rudimentary colonial urban-based health system.  In the early 1950s   nursing education started to produce three kinds of nurses: registered nurses, community nurses, and midwife nurses.

In  1954 these Italian Camboni  nuns were replaced by local nurses, who were upgraded to work without salary.  Among the first graduates were: s/r Alganesh Haregot and s/r Alganesh Adhanom and other prominent nurses who played a vital role in shaping nursing, and nursing services in Eritrea

Graduation ceremony for nursing health personnel before 1954, and the Diploma http://www.harep.org/Agriculture/Eritrea[1].pdf

In Feb 1955, the school of nursing admitted its first class of 25 female students out of which 13 students completed the course as nurse midwives. Most of them were assigned to the school of nursing after they were given post basic training in Beirut, Lebanon. After
completion of their courses, those who were prizewinners were sent to America for their bachelors degree in nursing. When they returned home, they were assigned to  programmes of administration, teaching, and to the clinical area resulting in better correlation of teaching and improving the quality of students’ clinical experience.

From 1955 to 1958, only female candidates were accepted for training. From 1959 onward, however, it was proposed to also admit young men for training as nurses. [History of nurse]

The number of nurses graduated during the period of the federation was follow

Source: School of Nursing Archive, Asmara cited by Taye 1990, page 88).  source

Nurse Ghide who delivered her lecture at American Club Lecture in May 2008 also explained that Asmara’s Nursing School was opened by “Point Four,” an American Mission, in 1955. Since that time, the school has trained more than 3,000 female and male nurses. (http://eritrea.usembassy.gov/may_club_lec.html)

The vocational trade school Point Four

The Eritrean vocational trade school in Asmara was opened in 19 September 1954 in an Italian military barracks. The buildings were renovated and converted for school use by April 1954.  It was maintained by the Ethiopian and the Eritrean governments in collaboration with Point Four. 70% of the cost was covered by the Ethiopian government and 30% by the Point Four. The school admitted 101 students from all parts of Eritrea, selected during the summer of 1954.  Due to a shortage of grade eight students, many of the first year candidates came from grade six and seven.  This had occurred because, in the 1940s, the British Administration in Eritrea didn’t expanded the education beyond the 8th grade.