Ethiopia could attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the primary education sector, according to a local study released on Monday.

The study, conducted by the non-governmental Young Lives Ethiopia, said Ethiopia has shown a dramatic increase in primary education coverage over the past few years, from 51 percent in 1999 to 77.7 percent in 2004/05 .

More than 2,000 schools have been constructed and thousands of teachers have been trained since 2002, the study indicated.

The current primary education expenditure is pro-poor which is balanced for gender, rural and urban parts of the country as well as among the poor and well-to-do segments of the society, it said.

The enrolment rate of females in primary schools is showing a remarkable increase, which resulted in balanced enrollment rate of male and female students, the study said, adding that the gender enrollment disparity could be closed by 2008/09.

However, the research said educational expenditure in senior secondary schools and tertiary level hasn't attained the desired level as the educational coverage favors males, urban centers and the economically advantaged segments of the society.

Tasew Woldehanna, research programs director with Young Lives Ethiopia, told journalists the government has done its best for the expansion of the educational sector, which he said, is successful.

The country could achieve the MDGs in the fields of primary education but a lot more should be done by the government, private institutions and the donor communities to attain the same success in the secondary education level, he said.

The MDGs, which were established in 2000 at the Millennium Summit in New York, include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empower women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.

Source: Xinhua