Gamo Zone in Southern Ethiopia has ordered that sections of 9th and 11th grade history textbooks be withheld from students, citing content that it says contains “false stories that threaten the unity of the Gamo nation.”

The zone’s education bureau accused the textbooks’ publishers and editors of promoting “personal political interests in the form of books” and called for them to be “lawfully prosecuted.”

The directive, issued last week, was addressed to 14 woreda and seven urban education offices across the zone. Addisu Adamu (PhD), head of the zone’s education office, confirmed the letter and said he had forwarded the complaint to the Southern Ethiopia Regional Education Bureau for corrective action.

According to the letter, which was copied to the regional bureau, the textbooks in question were published by the Ministry of Education in 2023. Dr. Addisu said the disputed content poses a threat to the unity of the Gamo community and must be addressed promptly.