Tigray lecturers say they have gone unpaid for months

Tikvah Ethiopia and Tikvah Education reported on Tikimt 11, 2019 E.C. (21 October 2026) that lecturers at public universities in Tigray have not received their salaries for several months. The report says the lecturers and their families are in serious financial hardship.

Sisay Bekele, public relations officer of the Ethiopian Universities Lecturers Association, told Tikvah Ethiopia that Axum, Adigrat and Raya universities have gone 12 months unpaid and Mekelle University 14 months.

The association said it has brought together its advisory board and is treating the matter seriously. It has not said how many lecturers are affected in total. Some lecturers from these universities have been posted outside the region, so the association is checking the exact number.

The report covers lecturers at public universities in Tigray and names four of them: Axum, Adigrat, Raya and Mekelle. It says their families are also affected. It does not say whether lecturers at other regional or national universities face the same problem.

Some lecturers from these four universities are now posted outside Tigray, and the association is counting them. The report names no other universities, so it does not say whether lecturers elsewhere are affected.

These are the figures the association gave on Tikimt 11, 2019 E.C. (21 October 2026). The report does not give a date for when payment resumes, a date when the support will start, or the day of the association's meeting. None of these has been announced.

The report says the association has two parts to its response: collecting short-term support among lecturers, and talks with the government for a lasting solution. The report does not say how the government has responded, why the salaries stopped, or who is responsible.

A fundraising drive for the same lecturers is covered in Union launches fundraising for unpaid Tigray lecturers.