The Somali educational institutions that had been crippled by many years of under-funding (1988–1991), fully collapsed as a result of the 1991 civil war (Eversamann, 2003). After years of under-funding, the quality of Somali education started to drop in the 1980s when the military government diverted the resources that would have been invested in social and economic infrastructure to military armament (Bennaars, Seif, & Mwangi, 1996). The decline in funding for the education sector resulted in low pay, poor working conditions for teachers and scarcity of text books, while almost 90 per cent of school properties were either partly or completely ruined (Bennaars, Seif, & Mwangi, 1996; Retamal & Devadoss, 1994). This level of under-funding made Somalia a country with one of the highest attrition rates in terms of teacher retention in the world (Retamal & Devadoss, 1994).
The situation worsened in 1990 when the Somali central government collapsed and different warring factions failed to agree on the formation of a broad-based government.
The civil war resulted in the looting and destruction of the few ill-equipped school properties and other essential resources, making access to education a near impossibility. The physical damage done to the school properties resulted in a lack of education for entire generations for decades (Bennaars, Seif, & Mwangi, 1996). Decades of lost generations imply a huge loss of human capital from which it will be hard for Somalia to recover. “The entire fabric of the Somali society has been damaged, the existence of the whole nation has sunk into a deep dark sea of unimaginable human and material disaster, and the communal mind of the people is in coma” (Afrax, 1994, p. 233).
In describing the desperate situation of Somali education, Abdi, (2003, p. 336), writes: With no organised systems of learning in place now, millions of Somalia’s children, young adults and adults are all at the mercy of whatever informal education
“bestows” upon them. Informal education, seen in this context as what is randomly learned from general societal situations, may sometimes, and depending on the situation, enhance social development. In Somalia’s case, though, the country’s
situation in the last seven years or so would lead us to believe that informal education is not only destructive at the moment, it also seems to be legitimizing a host of negative consequences, and in the process, it is self-perpetuating.
Initiatives to revive the Somali education system started in 1993 when Somali local
communities and former teachers got together to form education committees. As there was no central government to spearhead education development, regional education committees were charged with the responsibilities of reopening schools in major cities (UNDP, 1999). Humanitarian organisations, for example, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNDP and UNICEF, funded initiatives to restore learning resources and up-skill teachers; a role usually fulfilled by the MOE. Several schools that were rehabilitated by the humanitarian organisations later closed due to decreased donor funding and low community support.
In response to the recommendation of the World Bank Report, UNESCOPEER undertook measures to restore Somali education, with an emphasis on restoring educational
governance at the regional level and recovering and redeveloping curriculum, material, teachers’ remunerations and training (Bennaars, Seif, & Mwangi, 1996).
As noted by Bennaars, Seif and Mwangi (1996), humanitarian organisations’ efforts to restore Somali education were hindered by other factors such as a lack of textbooks and trained teachers, the absence of a standardised curriculum and the absence of central government to co-ordinate the restoration process. Growing insecurity, a lack of law and order, and other factors complicated the efforts of NGOs to sustain their rehabilitation programmes. Lack of security also hindered the access of children from minority clans to the few existing schools. Low enrolment of girls is also believed to be related to the insecure situation, as girls opted to stay at home for fear of rape.
Despite the progress made in lifting the literacy level of Somalia in the post-war era (1991- 2005), gender disparity remained an issue of concern. Based on a UNICEF 1998 report on the state of the world’s children, the literacy rate for Somali men was 36 per cent and for women was 14 per cent (Cumming & Tonningen, 2003). This reflects the dominant role in society of Somali men, and boys’ better access to education compared to girls.
The absence of state schools and the increased parental desire to find education for their children resulted in the proliferation of private schools in major cities, enabling families with the financial means to enrol their children. Home schooling also became a popular
means of providing education for the children of business people and employees of humanitarian organisations. As the civil war resulted in mass displacement, private and home schooling, which were the only existing systems, became beyond the reach of displaced families who were already struggling with their daily survival. As a result, internally-displaced families were, and still are, alienated from the education system, widening the education gap between the poor, displaced minority clans and the rich and powerful clans.
Although a limited number of schools have been operating in recent years in most regions and a small number of universities were established in major cities e.g., in Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Borama and Bosaso, accessibility to education remains restricted for the majority of Somali families. Children aged between 20 and 27 can be described as the lost
generation, as there have been no formal schools for the last two decades. The only practical experience to which children of this age group have been exposed for three decades are conflicts, hardship and human rights abuses.
Despite the growing disparity between boys and girls, school enrolments generally increased significantly between 1997 and 20042. This increase was partly driven by increased donor funding for educational programmes, and the establishment of private education institutions during this period.
Table 1.2 Enrolment in 604 primary schools in Somalia 1997
Grade/Yr Boys Girls Total no. of
pupils Pupils per grade as % of total no. of pupils No. of boys % in grade No. of girls % in grade 1 30,289 57% 22,485 43% 52,774 35% 2 23,690 60% 15,616 40% 39,306 26% 3 17,986 65% 9,710 35% 27,696 18% 4 11,723 67% 5,683 33% 17,406 12% Total 1–4 83,688 61% 53,494 39% 137,182 91% 5 5,373 71% 2,172 29% 7,545 5% 6 2,602 72% 1,032 28% 3,634 2% 7 1,398 73% 512 27% 1,910 1% 8 641 79% 173 21% 814 1% Total 5–8 10,014 72% 3,889 28% 13,903 9% Total 1–8 93,702 62% 57,383 38% 151,085 100% Source: (UNDP, 1999, p. 62)
Table 1.2 above indicates that of the total enrolment of 151,085 children in 604 schools in 1997, approximately 38 percent were girls. Enrolments for grades 5-8 indicate a lower enrolment for girls (only 28 percent). This suggests a high drop-out rate in upper primary classes for girls.
Table 1.3 gives Enrolment in Primary Schools by grade and gender in Somali Schools in 2004.
Table 1.3 Enrolment in Somalia State Primary Schools by grade and gender (2004)
Grade Boys % Girls % Total Pupils as % of
enrolment Grade 1 35,982 62.1 21,991 37.9 57,973 28.3 Grade 2 29,231 63.2 16,992 36.8 46,223 22.6 Grade 3 22,652 65.4 12,008 34.6 34,660 16.9 Grade 4 15,755 65.6 8,260 34.4 24,015 11.7 Lower Primary 103,620 63.6 59,251 36.4 162,871 79.5 Grade 5 11,184 67.1 5,472 32.9 16,656 8.1 Grade 6 7,491 68.9 3,378 31.1 10,869 5.3 Grade 7 5,582 70.7 2,309 29.3 7,891 3.9 Grade 8 4,662 74.0 1,637 26.0 6,299 3.1 Grade 9 165 57.0 124 43.0 289 0.1 Upper Primary 29,084 69,9 12,920 30.7 42,004 20.5 Total 132,704 64.8 72,171 35.2 204,875 100.0
Source: (UNICEF Somalia, 2004)
UNESCO research found four factors that affect the demand and supply of gender equality in Somali Education. While there are aspects of these factors that also affect boys, the research found that they have dire consequences for girls. The UNESCO research
categorised these factors into socio-economic, cultural, political/institutional, cultural and school factors. The socio-economic factors, specifically poverty, was found to hinder the affordability of Education, while the cultural factors, more particularly the Somali patriarchal culture influence the Somali societal attitudes towards prioritisation of girls’ education.
There are also factors related to the budgetary, political settings and the general education policy framework in Somalia which, affect the ability of the system in Somalia to provide girls’ education.
There are also other school factors which the UNESCO research found to contribute to the situation of gender disparity in the Somali Education. These include limited female trained
teachers and the failure of schools to acknowledge and accommodate the special needs of girls.
The findings for this research concluded that the affects of these factors (socio-economic, cultural, political/institution) results in girls’ low enrolment, high female school drop-out (due to teen-age and early pregnancy) and females’ limited bargaining power. These factors are listed in Table 1.4.
Table 1.4 Factors affecting gender equality in Education
DEMAND SUPPLY
Socio-economic factors Poverty
Direct costs (fees, uniforms, transportation) High opportunity costs/lower rate of return Girls needed for household/agricultural tasks Residence in remote, low population areas Limited employment opportunities for graduates
Lower remuneration
Cultural Factors
Parents’ low level of education Lower priority for girls’ education
Girls’ education perceived as incompatible with traditional beliefs and/or religious principles
Early marriages and pregnancies
Role of the girls/women as a wife and mother Sceptical attitude towards the benefits and outcomes of educating girls
Political/Institutional Factors
Budget constraints; structural adjustment programmes
Insufficient public support for the poor Political instability; inconsistent educational policies
Poor quality of education programmes Lack of clear strategy for women’s and girls’ education
Limited employment prospects
Factors Linked to the Schools High school fees
Low proportion of female teachers Teachers untrained/not sensitised to gender issues
School curricula in conflict with traditional culture
Orientation of girls/women to non- scientific fields
Lack of accommodation for or exclusion of pregnant adolescents and young mothers
Sexual harassment; insecurity Distance from school
As stated earlier, internally-displaced families suffered the most in terms of accessing education. According to UNICEF (2005) data, the number of students enrolled in 101 nationwide schools in 2005 was 3,572, with 2,309 of these being internally-displaced people (IDP) from the central south zone and only 1,263 being students enrolled in the rest of the country.
Based on the same data, the trend in the distribution of teachers indicates that male teachers significantly outnumbered women. For example, of the total 9088 teachers in 2005, 7908 were men while only 1180 were women. The data also give an interesting indication of the distribution of teachers by qualification; an acute shortage of teachers with teaching qualifications is one problem facing local schools. According to the UNICEF 2005 data, 46.5% of teachers have secondary certificates as their highest qualification.
Koranic schools still appear to be the most accessible and preferred means of schooling for families in the urban, rural and nomadic areas. Table 1.5 shows that more children are enrolled in Koranic schools than formal (secular) primary schools.
Table 1.5 Primary school and Koran school enrolments in North Eastern Somalia (1997) Population
grouping % of 6–14 year old children enrolled in primary and Koranic School Enrolled in primary school but not in Koranic school Enrolled in Koranic school but not in primary school Enrolled in both primary and koranic schools Enrolled in neither primary nor Koranic school Total Urban (n=544) 5% 39% 36% 20% 100% Rural (n=727) 3% 48% 24% 25% 100% Nomadic (n=375) NIL 7% NIL 93% 100% Total (n=1646) 2% 24% 13% 61% 100%
Source: (UNICEF Somalia, 1998 p. 40, cited in UNDP, 1999, p. 6)
Besides the local schools, Egypt and Sudan, which maintained diplomatic ties with Somalia throughout the civil war, supported Somali education by providing scholarships to students from local private providers to study in Egypt or Sudan. Based on the World Association of
(World Asociation of Muslim Youth, 2004). Table 1.6 shows the courses of study chosen by the 261 students.
Table 1.6 Courses of study Chosen by 261 Scholarship students 1999–2004 Faculties/Departments Number Education 74 Law 37 Engineering 17 Medicine 28 Business management 18 Computer Science 37 Science 21 Veterinary medicine 6 Pharmacology 2 Islamic studies 21 Total 261
Source: (World Association of Muslim Youth, 2004 http://www.mbali.info/doc427.htm accessed on 4/8/2011)