Ethiopia education ministry calls for calm as unrest hit universities

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia Ministry of Education called on Thursday for university students to remain calm and resume classes disrupted by recent unrest.

Tilaye Gete, Minister of Education, told journalists that several higher educational institutions have been hit by deadly unrest in the past several days.

He further said a command post coordinated by the central government and regional administrations has been established to secure a peaceful educational environment in higher educational institutions.

Conflicts between university students on December 10 and 11 in several universities left three students dead and several more injured.

Ethiopia's higher education institutions have been hotbeds of dissent since the 1960s, eventually helping overthrow the last Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I in September 1974.

In recent years, higher educational institutions have also become scenes of violence between students over ethnic and religious differences.

In November, Ethiopia's Ministry of Education warned it would take legal action against university students who interrupt normal classes and engage in violence. Enditem