Somaliland
Free Education “Too Expensive” for Somaliland
January 25, 2011 · 17 Comments
Hargeisa(SomalilandPress) – The self-declared republic of Somaliland has introduced free education at primary and intermediate levels and doubled teachers’ salaries but these decisions will be hard to sustain and could affect the quality of public education, say experts.
“We need to ask ourselves, does the Somaliland government have the capacity to handle this [salary] increase? The short answer is ‘no’,” Saeed Osman, a Uganda-based researcher in Somaliland’s education development, told IRIN.
The Ministry of Education requested the Finance Ministry to recruit 2,000 teachers but the response was that only 1,500 teachers could be recruited,” he added. “This shows that Somaliland’s government lacks the capacity to handle the increased school enrollment.”
Somaliland’s Finance Minister Mohamed Hashi Elmi announced on 16 January the introduction of free education in primary and intermediate schools. He also increased, by 100 percent, salaries of civil servants, teachers and personnel in the national forces.
“We have employed about 1,500 new teachers; for this reason all public primary and intermediate schools will be free of charge,” Elmi said.
However, education experts say the government’s move could damage the quality of public education in Somaliland.
“Look at the countries in the region, such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. When they announced universal primary education, school enrollment increased by about 200 percent,” Osman said. “A similar increase will happen in Somaliland, can we handle this?
“The salary increase announced by the government will not amount to much because a teacher used to earn about US$100-$180 with the parents’ support fee included; without the parents’ support, a teacher earned $50, so with the new increase, this will come to just $100; this is not adequate if the parents’ support fee is withdrawn [as will happen under the free education system].”
At least 200,000 students are enrolled in Somaliland’s public primary and intermediate schools, according to estimates by the Ministry of Education.
Ali Mohamed Ali, the director-general for education in Somaliland, said: “Only 21,639 students in public primary/intermediate schools are currently benefiting from free education; we hope that the newly employed 1,500 teachers will bridge the gap. Somaliland’s school enrollment increase is 6 percent annually, we do not anticipate a sharp increase from this.”
Source:Apress
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By Mo Guled
Tags: Education in Somaliland, Mr. Mohamed Hashi, Somaliland, Somalilandpress
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Looks like the Ministry of finance is again delaying this issue to reexamine ways to add possibly
other beneficiaries. We know there are other problems. Am just speculating but since the budget of
2011 is yet not presented to the house of law makers it'would seem too early to eloberate the real status
of this matter.
Cheers.
let us see if the new government has an answers for the uprising critics on their newly released free education plan.
Free education is what the Somaliland children needs it not a choice it must! If you, and I can afford to pay for our children, and niece and nephew what about the rest. The government has to do it. The future is them.
Who ever wrote this must be a small private school owner in somaliland and surely does not represent the wider public. What about the thousand children who their parent cannot afford private education? You don't care do you?
Parents and students have welcomed the government's announcement.
"Three of my seven children are in the public schools; I used to worry about their school fees daily because if I don't pay on time, my children get thrown out of school," Nimo Ahmed Nuh, a petty trader in Hargeisa, said. "This [free education] was one of the promises made by KULMIYE [ruling party] during its campaigns last year."
Mawlid Mohamed, 16, a student at Sheikh Madar Primary/Intermediate school in Hargeisa, said: "We used to be chased home if our parents didn't pay the school fees on the 25th of every month; now we are glad this will come to an end."
Free education is what our children needs as 90% of them cannot afford private schools like the owned by the author of this piece. STOP deleting my comments.
If the current administration of Somaliland abolished all school fees and increased the salaries of teachers, that was the expectation of what a credible government can do, when we voted for the change. Within a short period you can feel and see the changes we trusted to happen.
Musa
May be the budget wil include expected financial support from the USA. Remmember, their top diplomat promised (aggresive engagement with somaliland) financial support in education, agriculture and the provision of clean water.
I percieved this news as a posative signal. The fact that that school enrolement will increase by 200%, is something we should be very proud of. However, we should be prepared that donor financial support may not materialize or that it could be conditioned.
I
well done my fellow somali bro/sis from north west!!!
The new administration has done a lot of good things, both in practical and in vision-wise for the nation. This is a good initiative.
We can also see the budget is going in the right direction. Hopefully international countries take us more serious and allow us to be part of the rest.
So far we are doing well, education is vital so is technical training, we need more technical training colleges, in transporation, logistics, ports and airports, industrialization, farming and agriculture….
I am happy for our children and country to gain education. I also propose our diaspora community should set up a Student program, where Somaliland students in the diaspora visit the country every year and just interact and exchange ideas with those back home.
If our people are educated, we will go places. Lets be optimistic!
Totally free education is not the only solution. If the government cannot afford this there are other things they can do; one being that they can subsidise the cost of education and thereby allowing more children access to education.
I think there should also be more focus on the quality of the education; primary, secondary and higher education; there is no point increasing quantity if the wuality is very poor.
Now education is based on user pay method and it's not that bad as long as our children have an opportunity to learn. Teachers has no choice since they have families to support and no national government in Somali regions. Some children get support from their families friends, uncles and relatives abroad. The problems are some don't have that kind of financial supports and teachers don't take them out of the school;however, they waited and waited until the examination day. If the studends have some outstanding fees, teachers shut the doors on their faces. Here where the moral comes in, would you chase out studends on the examination day where they may loose the whole year, or would you mark it down and wait for next year or for give them. Bad time for them, at least in the late 1980s I was going to school free thanks to Somali government.
I think it's a good step .. Due to when someone wants to improve something, the person has to start from the base … e.g. If the government wants to develop the country it should start with educating the new generation because the children is base of any nation . When the government charge the students some of them might won't come because they can't afford it.
FREE EDUCATION SHOULD ONLY AND ONLY BE FOR SOMALILANDERS.
it is an injoyfull action . but free education must spread all somaliland from Borama Up to Dhahar and to treat fairly all the regions. that's my opinion towards the free education and i will hope to fulfull if allah support us.
As I grow up in Somaliland and educated I 'm supporting the disition that free schools it will be the best aptunating for the poorest children to have accisies education as all children in the word have right to learn.
well done to somaliland and god will support them.
layla