It has been about ten years since the government of Ethiopia made a new educationalrnand training policy. The making of the policy has been followed by the developmentrnand implementation of different programs in order to carry forward the innovationsrnenshrined in it. One of the highly emphasized aspects of this policy is the need tornimplement a problem solving education both in content and approach with thernobjective of producing a problem solving citizen. Related with this, the morernelaborate aspiration of the policy is the trend towards shifting classroom instructionsrnfrom teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach. Though a variety ofrnunderstanding exist on what 'a student-centered approach' means, the problemrnso lving approach with its qualifications as a student-centered approach and itsrnunquestioned relevance in the development of problem solving citizen, it is expectedrnthat this approach is given precedence in the implementation of the policy.rnThis particular study had, as its starting point, a supposition that in fact problemrnsolving approach/process are teachable and the capacity to solve problems can berndeveloped in school children. It is also assumed that efforts are being made tornimplement this approach at all levels of the educational system of the country.rnOwing to the realization that the country's largest population lives in the rural areasrnand the priority given to agriculture led economic development, the research focusedrnits attention to fmding out how the problem so lving approach is being implemented inrnrural primary schools. The bulk of primary school leavers constitute the young workrnforce in the rural areas: therefore the study narrowed its focus on eighth gradernstudents.rnThis case study conducted to examme the implementation of problem so lvingrnapproach, took 48 classroom observations in eight rural primary schools as central tornthe data collection process. However, in order to increase the validity of the researchrnand with the intention of describing more what has been taking place in the classroomrninteractions, the main elements of the interactions have been identified and used asrnsource of data. These main elements included; 152 teachers, 160 students, 8rnprincipals, eighth grade text books and school facilities. The sampling procedure andinstruments of data collection were such that each category of elements is representedrnin a way they balance representation and depth and detail.rnThough our daily life is full of problem so lving, the scientifically acceptedrnsteps/process of problem solving approach were identified and their implementationrnwas assessed in a way applicable to each source of data. Accordingly the datarnobtained from each source with the particular instrument of data collection werernorganized and analyzed under certain themes pertinent to the process of problemrnsolvingrnThe study revealed that problem solving approach is not being implemented inrnclassroom instructions. Teachers either have no any training or are poorly trained tornimplement problem solving approach. Text books and school facilities are not inrnfavor of the implementation of problem solving approach. Rural primary schools arernunder the gnawing influence of the vicious circle of poverty and low qualityrneducation. Therefore, stated in a very general sense, one can conclude that thernimplementation of problem solving approach in rural primary schools is in itsrnembryonic stage. It is not born, being cared and developed. By extension of thernimplication of the process to the end, one also can say that primary school leaversrndidn 't have the capacity of problem solving. Students rather are found to developrndependency syndrome and highly influenced by the information they acquire fromrnsources other than their formal education.rnII