Police officers deployed to schools, teachers banned from congregating in Addis Ababa: Report
Police officers are being deployed to schools and teachers are being banned from congregating, Ethiopia360 media outlet reported, citing sources.
Quoting anonymous sources Ethiopia 360, reported an average of 12 police officers have been put on guard across schools in Addis Ababa and that teachers are being forced to register the names of Absentee students.
Additionally, in every school on average a team of four spies have been allocated, with the spies being recruited from the city’s education bureau, as well as from woreda and sub-city administrations.
Separately, sources have reportedly told Ethio360 an unwritten directive is being implemented from Thursday banning teachers from congregating and discussing among themselves.
“Teachers have been instructed to go straight to home after finishing their work. This directive was disclosed in series of meeting held with teachers on Thursday in Addis Ababa,” Ethio360 disclosed.
The teachers have also reportedly been told this directive came from the Addis Ababa education bureau and that teachers have been told they can’t ask for a written proof of the directive.
An eyewitness told Mereja.com on Friday, he saw on the previous day baton stick wielding riot police charging inside Woizero Kelemwork Tiruneh preparatory school compound in Arada sub-city as weeping parents looked on from across the street.
“I also noticed a mixture of uniformed police officers and plain clothed intelligence officers posted on the gates of schools across Addis Ababa,” the eyewitness further told Mereja.com.
Schools across Addis Ababa are witnessing student led protests for weeks now sparked by authorities efforts to hoist Oromia regional state flag and play the regional state’s anthem in school compound.
An unknown number of students and teachers have been arrested and at least one unconfirmed case of student death reported in the ongoing protests so far.
