Wube Alemayehu

Ethiopian educator who pioneered modern pedagogy and women's literacy in the late 19th century

Wube Alemayehu (1835–1912) was an Ethiopian scholar and educator who introduced Western-style education to the Ethiopian Highlands. As a court scholar under Emperor Yohannes IV, she established the first public school in Gondar (1868), integrating Amharic language instruction with mathematics and geography. Her 1875 publication 《The Path to Knowledge》 became a foundational textbook. Alemayehu secretly taught girls in her home when formal schools excluded them, later founding the Shewa Girls' Literacy Initiative in 1885. She also preserved ancient Ethiopian manuscripts, creating the first public archive in Addis Ababa. Her advocacy influenced Emperor Menelik II's 1897 decree mandating primary education nationwide. Despite British colonial pressures, her methods influenced later Ethiopian educators like Getatchew Makonnen. Alemayehu's legacy is celebrated in Ethiopia's National Museum of Education.