School Principal Teketel Jona is lucky: his father and mother were lepers, so he was educated by US missionaries who established a school and hospital in Shamamene, Ethiopia.

He speaks of his luck without a hint of irony - in a country where less than half the population get to attend primary school, he is lucky.

Then it was on to second level (which is available to fewer than 10 per cent of the population) and a five-hour walk each day to cover the 18km to and from the "local" high school. Later Jona did a 10-month teacher training course and a two-year course in education administration in Addis Ababa university.

Now, at 30, he is principal of Koshe Junior School, in Mareko, with its 1,174 students. His teaching day breaks down into two sessions - 8.30 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. and then from 12.30 p.m. to 4.45 p.m. After that, it's just a matter of a few hours' administration and paperwork.

"I have no time to play, no time to read, no secretary, no administrators," he says. Jona got married the day before we met him and is bringing his wife, Hana, to live in the local village. He is worried that work will allow him little time for domestic life.

One of the visiting Irish teachers, Martin Carroll, begins to advise him on "burnout" and taking time off . . . Different world, same old teacher talk.

Then, it's on to other familiar chestnuts: unions, pupil-teacher ratios, resources, and teacher training. Teketel says the teacher-training course in Ethiopia is inadequate, with a 10-month programme. He is impressed with the three or four years Irish teachers spend earning their B.Eds.

The curriculum for grades 1 to 4 at junior school is very wide, encompassing Amharic (the national language), English, general science, music, art and sports. Later students will do biology, physics and chemistry as separate subjects as well as social studies, which includes history, geography and civics.

The nearest high school is 24km away, so students must walk long distances or stay away from home, incurring food and accommodation costs in a country where near-total cash-poverty is the norm.

Teketel Jona is concerned with the under-representation of girls at school - there are 315 girls in Koshe school at present. The school has established a gender core team in a bid to persuade girls to remain at school.

Girls are at greater risk from hyenas, which may prey on them as they trudge long distances to school. They are also at risk from human predators - in the form of men who may abduct and sexually assault them or - if they're "lucky" (that word again) - marry them. Early marriage is a cultural norm and Jona says girls may be married at 12 or 13.

Women traditionally ferry water, perhaps spending four or five hours a day with heavy pitchers on their backs, walking to and from water holes or rivers. They also manage the home, so education is not seen as a necessity.

However, as the country develops, and life is no longer carried on at subsistence level, education is increasingly being seen as a priority both for men and women.