Early years

Early years

Primary school years

Primary school years

Adolescence

Adolescence

 

Primary school years

© UNICEF Somalia/01-137-Taylor

Teacher and pupils in class in 2001. Teachers have undergone in service training conducted by UNICEF and partners in the new curriculum.

Somalia today is a country where schooling is available to very few children. A child of primary school age has only about a one in five chance of attending school. As a result of the collapse of the central government in 1991 and the ensuing long years of conflict schools were destroyed, looted and abandoned. Only now is rehabilitation of the damaged buildings beginning to take place. As per the 2006/7 Primary Schools Survey, there were 1,855 schools operational in the country, the majority concentrated around and in urban areas. Most schools are financed from fees or other forms of support from parents and communities, with some input from external agencies.The total enrolment figure is some 383,983 students, placing  Somalia firmly among the countries with the lowest enrolment rates in the world.

For a girl child in Somalia the prospects  of attending school are even poorer: the Survey of Primary Schools in Somalia for 2006-2007 showed that only slightly over one third, or 38 per cent, of pupils are girls .

© UNICEF Somalia/01-12-Pirozzi

Boys in class in 2001. UNICEF continues to provide quality education materials to schools, training for teachers and other education professionals, and support community education committees.

Results of previous school surveys reflect the same pattern. The low enrolment and high drop-out rates of girls in most areas are due to a combination of traditional attitudes, timing of classes and economic considerations.

Education prospects for children are, encouragingly, much better than a decade ago and although still low, the figures for school enrolment are on track to continue increasing. In 2002, all primary school teachers teaching the lower grades (one through four) received intensive training to improve their skills and techniques.  A process of curriculum development brought Somalis from different parts of the country to consensus on the question of a national syllabi for grades one through four. This  new curriculum and syllabus, developed by Somalis in collaboration with local and international partners over the last few years, is now in place, with textbooks in six subjects distributed to all operational schools.