This article analyses the challenges facing secondary education in the context of Ethiopia's Growth and transformation Plan (GtP) for 2010/11-2014/15 and its stated goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2025. It does not aim to provide a definitive set of recommendations for universalising general secondary education to meet the demands of a middle-income economy. Rather, the article informs policy makers and other stakeholders about the options available in the context of Ethiopia. It aims to equip them to chart a path for sustainable expansion of the subsector, enabling universalising secondary education to play an important role in transforming the country from a low-income to a middle-income economy. The article investigates the participation rate in secondary education that would support a middle-income economy, and then analyses how teacher preparation, development and management, together with school-based management, can contribute to ensuring quality secondary graduates. However, the following problems still persist in secondary education: the gap between access for urban and rural populations remains significant; gender disparities and disparities between regions remain high; access to general secondary education (grades 9-10) is still low; access to preparatory secondary education is low; and the distance between home and school is far for numerous children, which represents a barrier in particular for adolescent girls. The article summarises policy options for universalising general secondary education. The most critical reform areas identified in the study relate to the financing, and governance and management of secondary education, particularly school-based management.