Hope for Higher Learning in Mogadishu
“I want to be a teacher in the future, because I want to help the poor people, especially girls, who are not able to pay school fees.” These are the encouraging words of Safio, a teenage girl in Mogadishu attending secondary school. Despite the conflict in Somalia, outsiders may be surprised to learn that there are still schools operating in Mogadishu these days. Youth who live in peaceful countries who take their studies for granted, may be surprised to learn that students in Somalia often risk their lives to get an education.
Safio is now in grade eleven, and is the recipient of a student scholarship from the organization SAACID. The only female in her class, she expects to finish her studies after a year. Although she is dedicated to her education, living in Mogadishu during the ongoing conflict has impacted her psychologically. “The restrictions that we have encountered in the past few years, including the death of many students, constant displacement due to conflict and the delay of the 2008/2009 academic year, have caused the student body a lot of anxiety.”
Research conducted in early April 2011 by agencies working in the field of education shows an alarming 38% decrease in school enrollment since the beginning of 2011 in south and central Somalia, due to conflict and drought.
Years before, SAACID entered the formal education sector in 1996 after the UN withdrew its troops from Somalia the year before. The organization’s network of schools has come under enormous pressure over the past 3 years, as conflict has divided the city. More than half the student population has been displaced and no longer attends classes; more than 60% of the network’s teachers have been laid off.
The main reason for the decrease in school enrollment is the fact that over 6,300 teachers have been displaced, and parents are no longer able to afford paying school fees because of the effects of the drought. Female students are the most affected with drop-out rates of 57%. Although the number of students and teachers continues to decrease, SAACID continues to provide educational opportunities for those determined students who are able to access it.
‘Despite everything, I am still very happy to get this educational opportunity, and hope that I can take advantage of this opportunity,” said Safio.
Despite the various challenges and insecurity, students like Safio can find hope by looking to others that have managed to proceed to higher institutions of learning, despite the difficulties. One such individual is 29 year old Abdi. Also born in Mogadishu, he completed the secondary level in 2004.
‘Throughout my education I really liked scientific subjects, especially math and physics,” said Abdi. “During my studies at the school I received my full primary and secondary education for free through a SAACID scholarship programme.”
After graduating, Abdi attended Mogadishu University in the Faculty of Computer Science, where he learnt Information Technology (IT).
“It was difficult studying in Mogadishu,” Abdi recalls. “Sometimes it was difficult to travel to the university because of fighting, and then, if you made it to the class, there was fighting near the university. Then you would worry about how to get back home.”
Abdi now works for a well-known company in the city and is able to help support his family. He’s very appreciative. “I would like to thank SAACID, without which I wouldn’t be educated.”
Over the past 15 years in Somalia, SAACID has been able to develop a network of 27 secular primary and secondary schools, three vocational school sites and one Women’s Teacher Training Institute.