Abdalle Ahmed
Capstone
2th December 2021
Molli and Brendan
Revitalizing Education After the Civil War
Somaliland and Somalia were once considered one country with one land, one people,
and one leader, however a civil war broke out between the two regions. In 1988 the Somali Civil
war started. It was a politicized war over the territory of Somaliland. It was a war between the
SNM which were Isaaq militia groups and the Siad Barre regime. General Siad Barre was a
dictator and people could not tolerate his tyranny which sparked uprisings. After that, tensions
started between the government and the SNM. Wars broke out and government systems have
started to crumble because people started moving out of their homes seeking refuge in other
places. Since then, Somaliland has appointed its own government with its own leaders.
Somaliland eventually broke away and aparted from Somalia after the Isaaq massacre that was
carried out by the Darood general Jaale Siyaad Barre. These contributors led to the demise of
education and the rise of poverty levels in the regions of Somaliland. Since Somaliland’s
succession from Somalia’s federal government, they have had 5 successful elections and 5
presidents have been in power since. Somaliland is a peaceful country with a stable government
and economy, unlike their neighboring countries. Somalia has been struggling with radicals and
terrorist groups ever since. Even though Somaliland is a relatively successful country compared
to their neighbors in the horn of Africa, they still have a long way to go when it comes to
developing as a nation. However, while other things might not have progressed, education in
Somaliland has developed since the civil war when it comes to easy access of educational
resources, equal opportunity of education, and high overall literacy rates in the regions.
After the civil war, most of the public services were destroyed including the civil
infrastructure and educational centers. More than 90% of schools were destroyed in the war. That
setback had a huge impact on the overall education systems of the region. The absence of a
central government to manage education led to the drastic decrease of literacy rates and the rise
of ignorance. People were more focused on surviving the war and finding other places to settle
instead of sending their kids and themselves to school. According to the OCHA services news
and press release, “The number of primary schools, the focus of our study, has grown steadily
from virtually zero in 1990 to 935 in 2014.” This shows that education has gradually been
progressing the past few years after the civil war. “Primary schools were given first priority,
but seven years into this phase of its independence Somaliland's higher education system
came back to life with the inauguration in November 1998 of Amoud University - the
country's first post-war institution of higher learning.” (Elmi 2010). Followed by this was a
rapid growth in universities and schools all over the country.
World organizations and other establishments have been working towards making
education more accessible though they might not have succeeded in some places. All people of
all backgrounds and ethnicities are subject to basic education. However, since the civil war
ended, people have started to relocate back to their lands and communities formed. After that,
governments also formed and the nation of Somaliland was born. Education since then seems to
have been a priority for the governments of Somaliland. For an individual to be able to go to
school and get tutoring they first need to easily be able to access education. “This has, in turn,
allowed education and other development sectors to function as early as 1992. Local and
international NGOs have had significant involvement in the rehabilitation and development of
Somaliland’s education” (Bekelo 6). This shows governments were looking for ways to improve
education and they were involved in the process of revitalizing education which also meant
education was progressing. “An earlier extensive survey conducted by the Somaliland
government (MOEYS, 1996) reported 159 primary schools in operation with over 27,000 pupils”
(Bekelo 6). There are 159 operational and functional schools in the regions of Somaliland
according to this source and that shows education is progressing. Also “ these surveys revealed
that the annual enrolment rate exceeded the pre-war level of 34,300 children in 1987/88 survey
put the number of teachers at 1,167, making the pupil to teacher ratio (PTR) for Somaliland at
around 31:1. It has been reported that this was achieved largely through a combined effort of the
local authorities and communities together with international development agencies”, (Bekelo 6).
The governments of Somaliland and other local and international NGOs have made education
more accessible by building more schools so that more children can attend wherever they are.
Throughout history, different parts of society have been treated differently. Whether
people were treated differently because of their skin color or their gender. Women specifically
throughout history have been especially oppressed. They only did day to day chores and never
had as many rights as men. Somaliland has also culturally and traditionally oppressed women
providing them from things like education and basic health care. Women had to go through
things like unhealthy mutilations and unfair treatment because of the ignorance that society had
bestowed upon them. Even Though it might not look like it, women are important parts of our
society. Nevertheless, women were not allowed to attend school while boys could. However, the
percentages have started to change since the civil war and more girls started to attend schools.
“The survey also revealed that only 17% of primary age children, 23% of boys and 12% of girls
aged 6-14 years old, were enrolled in these schools” (Bekelo 6). The source also reveals that
“Girls constitute only 30% of the total enrolment” (Gandrup 2020). The number of boys
attending schools might be higher than girls but atleast girls were attending schools by now.
Although there is progress on increasing enrollment, the civil war had a huge impact on the
destruction and the demise of education in these regions.
In conclusion, Somaliland's education and literacy situation developed since the end of
the Somali Civil War in 1991. The central government restructured and revitalized the sabotaged
education systems. More primary, and secondary schools were built to help young kids educate
themselves and brighten their future. More universities were built allowing adults to pursue their
education further. Equal access to education was also implemented giving girls the chance to get
educated and help their country in the future.
PASS
See comments
Bibliography:
Bekelo, Samuel. “Post-Conflict Education Development in Somaliland”, Somaliland
CyberSpace.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08d21e5274a31e000167a/Post-Conflict
EducationDevelopment_in_Somaliland.pd
Elmi, Ahmed. “SOMALILAND: Higher education booms despite challenges”, University World
News. 5th September 2010.
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20100903174336536
Gandrup,Tobias. “How schools are kept afloat in Somaliland”, OCHA services Relief Web. 19
August 2019. https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/how-schools-are-kept-afloat-somaliland
Hassan, Mohamed. “Literacy in Somalia: A struggle to rebuild the system broken by war”,
Development Aid. 23rd July 2020.
https://www.developmentaid.org/#!/news-stream/post/70249/literacy-in-somalia-a-struggl
e-to-rebuild-the-system-broken-by-war