Ethiopia is a nation of more than 70 million people characterized by diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Since the early 1990s Ethiopia has entered into the process of transformation towards a more civil society. This transformational process has led to numerous socioeconomic and political policy reforms. Central to reforms in the education sector are changes in the school curriculum, the decentralization of education, the use of regional languages for instruction (as opposed to the former use of the national language, Amharic), emphasis upon democratic values, and multiple perspectives in addressing diversity issues in education. These changes constitute a significant turning point in the history of education of this country. If antagonism prevails among the recent reforms in the educational system of Ethiopia, the realization of curriculum change and the objectives of education outlined in the reform policy will be challenged. The synchronicity among the reform efforts, therefore, deserves critical inquiry since change initiatives, contrary to the aspired goals, may turn out to be sources of constraints on teaching and on students' opportunity for learning. In this study, the authors investigate the question of whether incompatibilities prevail among the reform efforts that may get in the way of teaching for meaningful learning in the Ethiopian educational system. They examine disharmony among the reform efforts and subsequent challenges in order to forward suggestions about the coping strategies. Critical examination of the recent reform efforts in the various components of the Ethiopian education system reveals incompatibility, particularly among the reforms in the areas of the school curriculum, the teacher education program, the national examination, and the language of instruction.