Abstract

During the imperial regime of Emperor Haileslasie, there were only three secondary schools in Tigray Province. These were Atse Yohannis of Enderta, Nigiste Saba of Adwa and Agazi of Agame Awrajas. These secondary schools were centers of dissent. Linguistic oppression, maladministration and lack of adequate social institutions created very strong dissatisfaction among the people of Tigray Province. As what was happening in other parts of the province, there was very strong student anti-government political movement in Agazi Secondary School. Since the late 1960s, strike, demonstration, fighting against the police and breaking government vehicles became common political activities in the school. Both university and high school students of Agame Awraja arranged meetings, distributed several pamphlets and composed many revolutionary songs which agitated mass-based armed struggle against the imperial regime. Their strong determination to pay any form of sacrifice for the betterment of their society marked the end of the imperial regime in September 1974. This article is based on primary and secondary sources. The former includes numerous archival materials, information obtained from interviews of knowledgeable individuals, while the latter consists of books, articles and theses. These sources are critically examined and cross-checked for their reliability.

Key words: Students, boycott, demonstration, opposition, Agazi, Adigrat, Agame.