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Child rights provisions among Yekolo Temari: examining the lived experiences of children in classical schools of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

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Abstract

Grounded on scholarly works this study examined the lived experiences of children in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church school through the lens of a child rights-based approach. Three articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) were chosen as an analytical framework. The review revealed that the vast majority of Yekolo Temari joined the EOC school with their own interest, but the practice left them deprived of the family environment. They needed the protection and care necessary for their well-being. This study recommends that the government of Ethiopia and all stakeholders enforce domestic laws that ensure the well-being of Yekolo Temari.

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Data availability

Data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Notes

  1. Yekolo Temari (literally, a student subsisting on roasted grain) is used to represent a student in the classical schools of the EOC.

  2. The schools in the EOC are locally termed Yeqes or Yeabnet temehert bet. However, to avoid the loaded term “traditional,” I refer to these schools as classical.

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Acknowledgements

I provide my sincere gratitude to anonymous reviewers who provided feedback on an earlier version of this article.

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  1. School of Psychology, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box: 31772, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Taglo Kassa

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  1. Taglo Kassa
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Kassa, T. Child rights provisions among Yekolo Temari: examining the lived experiences of children in classical schools of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. j. relig. educ. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-024-00231-6

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