Addressing the issue of the extent to which the government of a country poor in economic and human resources for development can put into practice pluralist language policies for education. The discussion is limited to policy and practice in post-revolution Ethiopia, drawing on data collected in the mid-1980s (McNab, 1989). It is also limited to the literacy campaigns which, carried out in fifteen languages, have become a regular feature of the education system since their inauguration in 1979. The term literacy campaign as used in this paper includes the initial, remedial, and post-literacy classes which in Ethiopia are the basis of an integrated approach to literacy education.

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) is a developing country of socialist orientation. The population of Ethiopia is about 45 million. It is one of the poorest countries in the world; in 1984, the estimated GNP per capita was around $110 (World Bank, 1987). The population is predominantly (89 percent) rural, with agriculture accounting for about 50 percent of GDP, 90 percent of exports and 85 percent of employment (World Bank, 1987). Agriculture is the country's main potential resource for development but development is hindered by cycles of drought and famine and by the fighting in Northern Ethiopia and previously also in the Ogaden. Trading is well established, and a small modern sector has developed in the urban areas. There are, however, vast distances, rugged terrain, and wide variations in topography which make internal transport and communications difficult and thereby pose major obstacles to administration and economic development.