Education

Three of the Most Expensive Schools in Addis Ababa

BBC · 6 days ago · Read the Full Story on BBC
Three of the Most Expensive Schools in Addis Ababa
AI SUMMARY

A report on three high-cost international and private schools in Addis Ababa highlights annual tuition fees reaching up to six million Birr for the 2026/27 academic year.

  • Public education in Ethiopia is free, whereas private and international school tuition ranges from thousands to millions of Birr based on institution type and curriculum.
  • For the 2026/27 academic year, selected international schools in Addis Ababa charge up to over $37,000 or nearly six million Birr annually.
  • Tuition fees vary depending on the student's citizenship, grade level, and payment category, with additional costs for registration, examinations, and learning materials.
  • International Community School (ICS Addis) charges $19,495 annually for 3 to 4-year-olds and up to $37,215 or 5,982,914 Birr for 11th and 12th-grade students.
  • ICS Addis requires a $300 registration fee and up to $10,000 in capital levies for new students depending on the grade level.
  • The German Embassy School charges 11th and 12th-grade students whose tuition is at least 75 percent employer-subsidized 20,803 Euros, while self-paying parents pay 8,808 Euros annually.
  • The German Embassy School charges an overtime fee of 18 Euros per hour for students not picked up by 5:30 PM.
  • Lycée Gebre-Mariam charges Ethiopian citizens 401,800 Birr for primary and 420,000 Birr for secondary school annually for the 2026/27 academic year.
  • At Lycée Gebre-Mariam, French citizens pay 6,750 Euros for primary and 7,150 Euros for secondary school, while other nationalities pay 8,800 Euros and 9,550 Euros respectively.
  • The Addis Ababa Private Schools Employers' Association manager notes that approximately 1,500 private schools operate in the city with high operational and staff expenses.