The political changes of the ninety-nineties in Ethiopia were connected with a far-reaching education reform and a transition from the use of only Amharic and English as media of instruction to a system that uses a multi-lingual approach to education. At present 25 local languages are told to be already used at primary level as medium of instruction. Despite the overall success the reform’s main obstacle is overcoming material and professional shortages in view of a growing number of pupils.