esilience and Adaptive Practices in Education Systems During the Tigray Conflict: A Lean-Inspired Perspective

10th International Academic Conference on Management and Economics

Year: 2026

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esilience and Adaptive Practices in Education Systems During the Tigray Conflict: A Lean-Inspired Perspective

Berhanu Yayo Hagos

ABSTRACT:

The armed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has severely disrupted the delivery of education, forcing schools, teachers, and communities to respond with resilience and innovation. This paper investigates how educational systems in conflict zones, particularly during the Tigray war, adopted adaptive practices that align—often unintentionally—with Lean management principles. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with displaced teachers, aid workers, and affected communities, along with secondary sources, the study identifies low-resource strategies used to maintain learning continuity. These include community-led instruction, decentralized learning hubs, flexible scheduling, and streamlined use of scarce materials—practices that mirror Lean principles of eliminating waste, optimizing flow, and maximizing value under constraints.

The analysis reveals how these grassroots adaptations not only ensured survival of learning in crisis conditions but also offer valuable lessons for building more resilient, sustainable, and efficient educational responses in emergencies. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for integrating Lean thinking into crisis education planning, with implications for both policy and practice. This research contributes to the broader dialogue on Lean in education by extending its relevance to humanitarian and conflict-affected contexts.

Keywords: Lean education, conflict zones, adaptive learning, resilience, Tigray, crisis management, educational sustainability