GSE INTERNAL DEBATE OVER SAWA

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000095 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2018 TAGS: PGOV SOCI PHUM MOPS PINR ER SUBJECT: GSE INTERNAL DEBATE OVER SAWA Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for Reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) High-ranking Eritrean officials are said to be debating which ministry should provide funding for Sawa Secondary School, a government-run boarding school/military camp located in the Gash Barka region near the Sudanese border. The Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) requires all Eritrean high school students to complete their final year of study at Sawa; mandatory courses include military training prior to the start of classes. Historically, the Ministry of Defense funded the school because the seventy-five percent of students unable to pass the matriculation exam required to continue studies at the university level were drafted into the military. ¶2. (C) In 2004, the GSE started providing vocational training to most students who did not pass the matriculation exam, reducing the number of new bodies available for military service immediately after commencement. The Minister of Defense reportedly wanted to pass responsibility for funding the school to the Ministry of Education, which has balked due to lack of funds. Debate also included possibly closing the school, either after this term or after the next class scheduled to arrive in summer 2008. MCMULLEN