The purpose of this study was to investigate the scope of communityrnparticipation in education, particularly in financing primary schools, to identify thernmajor problems and to come up with practical solutions.rnIn treating the factors of the levels of community participation, the study wasrndone mainly via a descriptive survey method.rnThe data were collected mainly through questionnaires from 92% of therninvited respondents, from three groups representing both the primary school systemrnand the community. A structured interview from 100% of invited REB and ZEDrnrepresentatives was used to supplement the questionnaire data.rnThe results indicated that the participation of the community in financing thernprimary schools is very unsatisfactory.rnThis is found to be so mainly due to the inefficiency of the schoolrnmanagement /parentl committee in creating the necessary conditions for therncommunity to participate in school affairs. It was also due to lack of clear guidelinesrnon a policy statement regarding government support to primary education. It wasrnfound to be misinterpreted and confused with "free education" and cost-sharing .rnThough the ETP states that the Government will financially support primaryrneducation, the results indicated that the support, particularly in cash , is insignificant.rnThe statistical treatments showed that there is no variation in the extent ofrncommunity participation among the regional states treated in the study. In otherrnwords, community involvement is low across the four regions.rnYet, whatever the difference is, it is apparent that the primary schools are inrngreat need of increased community participation in their educational operations.rnThus, the following are expected from schools, the community, and the Government,rnsuggested in the study:rnIt is absolutely necessary to enhance a two-way relationship between thernschools and the community. Therefore, the primary schools, parents' representativesrnand their respective Woreda Education Offices should establish communityrnmobilization structures to ensure systematic and effective community participation.rnThe primary target should be to make the community believe that the schools arerntheir own property and then render financial, material and/or labor support on arnvoluntary basis.rnThe Ministry of Education and Regional Bureaux have to take urgentrnmeasures in clarifying policy statements regarding government financial support tornprimary education. They should also ensure that community support is subsidizedrnby government budget and/or by other donor agencies.rnxrnChapter Onern1. Introductionrn1.1 BackgroundrnEducation is a cornerstone of economic and social development. It isrnsignificant in improving the productive capacity of societies and their political,rneconomic and scientific institutions. It also helps reduce poverty by mitigating itsrneffects on population, health and nutrition and by increasing the value and efficiencyrnof the labor offered by the poor. As economies worldwide are transformed byrntechnological advances and new methods of production that depend on a welltrainedrnand intellectually flexible labor force, education becomes even morernsignificant. (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991 : 1). In this regard, primary educationrnplays a basic role in increasing the productivity of citizens in all sectors of therneconomy.rnPrimary education has two main purposes: producing a literate population thatrncan deal with problems encountered in life and serving as a foundation on whichrnfurther education is built. However, in many countries, particularly in the developingrnworld, educational systems are unable to meet their objectives satisfactorily. This isrnbecause of the fact that they do not teach children already in school the core skillsrncontained in their national curriculum; and also they do not provide all school-agernchildren, particu larly girls, with the opportunity to attend school. As a result, thesernprimary educational systems are ineffective in these ways and national efforts tornbuild a base of human capital for development become fruitless (Lockheed andrnVerspoor, 1991: 1-2)rnCertain corrective measures should be taken to address these shortcomings.rnFirst, primary