AFP: Somali regions bet the pen is mightier than the sword

[Somalia]

SPARED the violence that has ravaged southern Somalia for two decades, the breakaway Somaliland and Puntland regions are investing in education to lure youngsters away from extremism and piracy.

 

The self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland hopes to prove it can build a stable, independent state as the international community has not recognised its autonomy since it split away from Somalia in 1991.

 

Semi-autonomous Puntland to the east - created in 1998 and now boasting its own political institutions and administration - is striving to keep its youth from joining Islamist extremist or pirate groups.

 

"Several generations have been lost, first under the (Somalia ex-president Mohamed Siad) Barre regime and then during the civil war," Puntland's president, Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, recently told an EU delegation.

 

The European Union, Somalia's biggest donor, contributes 85 million euros ($110 million) a year to the education sector in the whole of Somalia, including the two breakaway regions.

 

"We're against radical Islamism," Farole said.

 

Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents, under military pressure in the centre and south of the country, are reportedly trying to establish bases in Puntland, where the area's first pirate gangs emerged in 1998.

 

Zamzam Abdi Adan, Somaliland's education minister, estimated that only 50 to 55 percent of children in the region attend school.

 

"A nation can only be strong when it has human resources," Adan, a former teacher and Somaliland's only woman minister, told AFP. "We're trying to build solid human resources."

 

"We try to convince parents to send their children to school," said Adan, who in 2011 made primary education free and started to integrate teachers - previously paid by school fees - into the civil service.

 

This year the state will allocate 10 per cent of its budget to education.

 

Neighbouring Puntland plans to allocate 3.5 per cent of its budget to education this year, and 7 per cent in 2013.

 

"Education is the only way of counterbalancing extremism in Somalia. It's important to... provide a future" for young people," said Puntland's Education Minister Abdi Farah Said Juxa.

 

"Without education there is no hope," he said, adding that the other options young people face are piracy and other criminal activities.

 

EU education support "helps prevent a situation where young people with no qualifications get involved in extremist activities," said Isabel Faria de Almeida, who heads the EU's Education and Economic Development unit for Somalia.

 

The program also aims to get more girls into school, particularly into secondary school, where there are fewer girls despite an increase in overall enrollment.

 

Despite all their efforts and support from the EU, which pays some teachers' salaries on top of other support, the two regions are facing a huge challenge.

 

"Classes are full to overflowing and there aren't enough tables," explained Nassir Jam Bulale, the headmaster of the Fadumo Bihi school in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, where four children squash onto a bench intended for two.

 

For colleague Ali Ahmed Balayah, one of the problems is low pay for state school teachers who earn around $100 dollars a month.

 

Once they get some experience, many of them flock to private schools, where they can earn up to three times more.

 

Puntland's Education Minister says that teacher training is a priority in his region.

 

"We need more classrooms, more teachers... more water, more electricity, more everything," his Somaliland counterpart said.

[kingofkings]

keep up the good work minster Juxa.

[Somalia]

Garowe, Somalia — Across Puntland state, secondary students are taking their final exams for this year, Radio Garowe reports.

 

It is estimated that there are close to 15 thousand students are taking the secondary exams this year.

 

According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, across the board there are close to 200,000 thousand students that are currently enrolled in education institutions. More than half of those students are enrolled in primary schools, with at least 20,000 thousand attending secondary school next year.

 

"For the past week, I have been taking my exams for Form 1, a twelve subject course load, I've studied hard and I think I've done well," said Mahamoud Mohamed Yusuf a student at Gambol secondary school in Garowe.

 

Education in Puntland

 

The collapse of President Siyad Barre's regime in 1991 caused a breakdown of government and institutions but really had an affect in education institutions across Somalia. A long time has passed since 1991 and across Somalia despite conflict , the quality of education institutions have somewhat regained their previous prestige.

 

Puntland state of Somalia, since its establishment in 1998 has made significant improvement on the standards of the education sector. According to the Puntland Ministry of Education from 2005 to 2006 there was an increase of 135 educational institutions across Puntland. According to the Ministry of Education, there are currently 460 primary schools, 54 secondary schools, 200 adult schools and eight universities in Puntland. Over the years rural areas in Puntland gained much need access to primary and secondary schools.

 

Late last year Turkey awarded scholarships for 400 students from across Somalia, but according to Puntland Minister of Education Abdi Farah Juha the scholarships were not properly distributed to Puntland. According to government sources in Mogadishu the controversial scholarships were handed out by officials for cash and some students deserted there educational opportunities to illegally enter Europe. Officials in the Ministry of Education said that some of the students awarded scholarships were not contacted and left behind while others who bribed officials took their positions.

 

According to Puntland Minister Juha, Puntland did not receive support from the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia in the education sector as promised to Puntland in December's Garowe conference.

 

"We did not get any support from the TFG. During the Garowe conference the TFG agreed to support %25 of aid donated to Somalia's education sector to our educational programs, but nothing has been done yet, although they received the funds from the international community," said Minister Juha.

 

Despite the lack of promised funds for the Ministry of Education, Puntland educational institutions have progressed significantly over the past 14 years with the assistance of the government, Puntland businessmen/women, parents, the international community and the Somali Diaspora.

[kingofkings]

job well done Minister Juxa. :cool: