Bahir Dar University (BDU) and Partners in Education Ethiopia (PiEE) have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reaffirming and expanding a partnership that has spanned nearly a decade and improved the learning, health, and wellbeing outcomes of children and youth across the Amhara National Regional State. 

The agreement, signed during a ceremony held at Bahir Dar University today, August 13, 2026, aims to create synergy across key areas of collaboration, including upgrading school facilities, improving the quality of instruction, addressing learning and teaching resource inequality, enhancing hands-on and experiential learning, closing learning achievement gaps through digital education, improving the learning environment through water, sanitation, and hygiene, enhancing students' health and wellbeing outcomes, and strengthening learning, health, and wellbeing through evidence-based assessment and action research.

Opening the ceremony, Dr. Zewdu Emiru, Vice President for Information and Strategic Communication at Bahir Dar University, welcomed guests and reflected on the depth of the relationship between the two institutions. He noted that since 2010 E.C., BDU and PiEE have jointly worked on the construction of educational institutions, teacher capacity building, eye health services, and youth job-readiness training, bringing about sustainable and tangible change. He emphasized that the newly signed agreement extends this collaboration beyond the college level to encompass the entire University, strengthening joint efforts in educational quality, health, safety, and community-focused research, and elevating the partnership to a higher level that reinforces the two institutions' shared vision.

Speaking on behalf of Partners in Education Ethiopia, Executive Director Mr. Yehalem Abebe reaffirmed the organization's long-standing commitment to the partnership, recalling that since 2017, PiEE and BDU have collaborated on numerous projects to improve learning, health, and wellbeing outcomes for disadvantaged children and youth in the region. Among the achievements realized through this collaboration are the construction and furnishing of three full primary schools, the supply of furniture to additional schools, training for more than 130 teachers in science, English, and inclusive pedagogy, and scholarship support for 59 teachers pursuing first and second degrees based on their impact on student learning. The partnership has also transformed school compounds into green outdoor classrooms and educational gardens across 20 schools, established eight vision centers in public hospitals, including at Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, and provided vision screening to more than 180,000 students, staff, and community members, with over 6,000 patients receiving glasses or treatment support. Mr. Yehalem further expressed PiEE's interest in deepening collaboration with BDU in the area of educational quality, particularly around school readiness, focusing on physical growth, cognitive development, language development, and social development.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Mengesha Ayene, President of Bahir Dar University, thanked Partners in Education Ethiopia for its continued partnership with the University and underscored BDU's strong interest and commitment in the areas Mr. Yehalem had outlined. He shared University-driven proposals, including work around a rural corridor concept centered on initiatives that are visible, replicable, and scalable, and where partner organizations could contribute meaningfully. On foundational literacy and numeracy, he noted that BDU is working with various partners to build strong numerical and literacy skills among children, and, in the age of artificial intelligence, technology, and innovation, raised the question of how mathematics should be taught, pointing to the University's ongoing Math Camp initiative and its interest in extending the program to lower grade levels through community networks. He observed that BDU has the human resources, skilled professionals, and curriculum development capacity needed to advance this work, though financial constraints remain an area where continued collaboration with PiEE and other partners will be essential.

Dr. Mengesha also spoke about a planned Summer Society initiative targeting STEM graduates, who would return for six months of intensive training to prepare them for opportunities in the global job market, with the University aiming to establish, by 2019 E.C., an institution capable of producing digital products through this initiative, and expressed BDU's readiness to work with partner organizations, including PiEE, on this effort. On education, he noted that BDU's College of Education is already working extensively with partners on primary- and secondary-level projects aligned with PiEE's programming, and reaffirmed the University's continued readiness to deepen this engagement. On health, he commended PiEE's role in raising the profile of BDU's hospital and noted that, given the human resources available at Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, there is an opportunity to create additional space and capacity through partner-supported resources and networks, affirming BDU's readiness to continue working in the health sector. On early childhood development, he praised PiEE's attention to this often-overlooked but critical area, noting that BDU is already engaged with various partners on related work, including baseline surveys, joint workshops, and policy development. He concluded by stressing that these educational priorities are fundamental issues that BDU must and will continue to address with strong commitment.

The renewed Memorandum of Understanding reflects the shared vision of Bahir Dar University and Partners in Education Ethiopia to advance educational quality, health, and wellbeing outcomes for disadvantaged children and youth in the Amhara Region, and will serve as a platform for deepening this partnership across the University in the years ahead.