Carruurta darbijiifka ah ee waxba baran
The state of affairs inMogadishu today has created a ‘lost’ generation made up primarily of children who have grown up with limited or no formal education and without any experience of a modern functioning state and its institutions. Many children of school going age remain at home or live on the streets for many reasons – including inability of their parents to pay charges required by the existing schools which are run privately.
Education in Mogadishu as in other parts of South-Central Somaliais run by FPENS and SAFE– networks of Education providers from both the Private and NGOs Sectors. It is currently based on a 2-6-3-3/4-4/5 system. Under this system 3 to 5 year old children attend Nursery and Foundation or Kindergarten or Xadana for up to 2 years. Not many people take their children to this class however since the majority of the children around those ages are already enrolled in the Dugsi schools.
The Dugsi system is known as the most stable local, non-formal education providing basic religious and moral instruction to children in most, if not all of Somalia. They are mostly supported locally by the communities and always utilize locally made and widely available teaching materials. It is considered the basic system of instruction in religion in Somalia. Relative to other education systems, the Dugsi teaches the greatest number of pupils and is the only system accessible to nomadic Somalis. A survey conducted by UNICEF in 1993 for instance, found that among other things girls comprised about 40% of pupils in Dugsi schools. These percentages are unmatched in the other formal or private schools.
The next stage for the FPENS/SAFE run system is the Primary School where 6-12 year old Children are enrolled to study for 6 years and upon successfully completing their Examinations obtain and Elementary School Certificate. The Primary School curriculum covers Somali, Arabic or English, science, art, geography, history, mathematics, physical education, religion, technology, ICT, music and culture.
There are close to 200 primary and 35 secondary schools inMogadishu. Most of these were either built or re-established with external support from international charities, mainly from Middle Eastern countries and the hard work done by local charities, voluntary worker and NGOs. UN Agencies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP and WHO got involved in the development of unified curriculum, teacher training and feeding the children in few cases.
Aged between 12 and 15 years, Pupils can then join Intermediate Schools for a three year period which concludes with an Intermediate School Certificate. The general curriculum at this level covers Somali, Arabic or English, science, art, geography, history, mathematics, physical education, religious studies, technology and ICT, music and culture.
Secondary School life commences for 15 to 19 year olds and lasts for between 3 and 4 years culminating into a Secondary School Leaving Certificate. The curricula at secondary level are divided between Arabic based Schools and English based schools. The Arabic based students complete their secondary schooling in 3 years while their English counter-parts complete 4 years. The curriculum covers courses in Arabic or English, biology, chemistry, Physics, ICT, technology, geography, history, mathematics, physical education and religious studies.
Successful Candidates are then eligible to join Colleges and other Institutions or Vocational and Technical establishments for between 2 and 3 years and graduate with a Vocational Diploma. Students in these Colleges are taught nursing, vocational or technical, commercial, business and computer sciences and agriculture.
Others, within the same age range (18 to 20) and having completed Secondary School could also go for Primary School Teacher training and qualify as teachers after 2 years.
University Education is available inMogadishuwhere it takes 4 to 5 years to graduate. Some Universities are also offering Masters Programmes. There are questions however raised in some quarters regarding the qualification of such Institution to offer internationally recognized University Diplomas.
