Yohanese Wogasso

Director General of School Improvement in Ethiopia

“Education Leadership through Crisis” is a multi-week video series featuring wisdom from a diverse group of education leaders.

Below, watch highlights from host Mubuso Zamchiya’s interview with Yohanese Wogasso on the importance of collaborating as a global community and taking advantage of new technology to share ideas. Yohanese also dives into Ethiopia’s focus on education and how education solutions during COVID-19 must be contextual.

Scroll down to watch the full interview.

“We need to work collaboratively. COVID-19 gives us the opportunity to share our ideas, common agendas, and the like over Zoom… I encourage everyone to share our ideas.”

Yohanese Wogasso

Director General of School Improvement, Ethiopia

Meet Yohanese Wogasso

Yohanese Wogasso is the Director General of School Improvement at the Federal Ministry of Education in Ethiopia. With 20 years’ experience in the education sector, Yohanese began as a mathematics teacher in junior secondary school. He subsequently served as a School Director and was promoted to his District Office as an Education Program and Supervision Desk Head. Yohanese became a Regional Education Bureau Advisor seconded to the region by the Federal Ministry of Education. He then shifted to work at the national level as a Technical Assistant for Emerging Regions. Yohanese was recruited to serve as a national Director for School Improvement in 2018, and, mid-2020, was appointed Director General of School Improvement for the entire country responsible for all educational programs from pre-primary to secondary.

View the Full Interview

Question Breakdown:

1. (00:51) How did you get into the education space as a professional and as a leader?

2. (04:40) Why is education important to you?

3. (09:20) The education system in Ethiopia seems strikingly unified. Could you speak a little bit to why this is the case in Ethiopia?

4. (14:23) Tell me about that ethos of government that makes it consistent in putting education first?

5. (18:43) Could you share a little bit about the government’s willingness to partner with multiple outside partners across non-government sectors?

6. (23:40) As a member of the Ethiopian government, how you are thinking a about bringing the most marginalized children through the fold?

7. (29:31) How has COVID-19 affected education delivery and improvement in Ethiopia?

8. (37:20) What are the things you are hoping will come forth at this point in time, in terms of Ethiopia’s education system?

9. (45:27) What advice, recommendations, or thoughts might you have for people in similar positions to yours in other countries?

10. (55:00) For a large system like Ethiopia’s education system, how do you build the agility to be able to ramp up and ramp down both nationally and locally as you need to? What are you doing to mitigate the risks of reopening not working in the way that you hoped?

11. (59:25) What books inspired you as a young reader?

12. (01:01:31) Any parting words to share with our listeners and viewers?

“For me, when I say education…education should liberate human beings to know their potential. To reach their fullest potential. To overcome challenge.“

Yohanese Wogasso

Director General of School Improvement in Ethiopia

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