Somalia: Education Must Be a Top Priority

Governments shape their people to become productive and efficient by educating them. Since the end of the civil war, the education sector has been steadily improving, with government officials and businessmen, realizing the importance of education for the country's long-term development, working to revive it. However, it has led to a situation outside the control of the government, with various confusing systems and structures used in primary and secondary schools, which have adopted any system preferred by the owners. Even the school term and the textbooks used vary from school to school in different parts of the country.

Curriculum

The wane quality of education in Somalia has been fueled by a variety of educational systems. The country's curriculum was introduced less than eight years ago. Before that, it was taught in different curricula due to the lack of quality of Somali students, as well as the dwindling of the Somali language, although now the curriculum is written in the Somali language while still being edited.

"The Curriculum is a start, there are a lot of mistakes but it ends without a curriculum. The aim was to give Somalia a unique curriculum, and its elite people have sat down to develop a unified curriculum that will be reviewed every three years,” Mohamed Abbi, the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education of Somalia.

With this new system of education, commonly known as the '4-4-4- system,' students spend four years in elementary school, four years in intermediate school, and four years in high school before referring to higher /tertiary education. The biggest new change to the curriculum is the language of instruction. During the civil war, due to the scarcity of books in the Somali language, schools used whatever book they could find. These books came from many countries which sat their curriculums in English and Arabic languages. This encourages the cessation and consolidation of the language.

"When it comes to education and the language of the curriculum in primary education, there is a great need for children growing up to be taught in their mother tongue because they can easily think that their language connects to their environment and the culture they know. To take advantage of their experience and knowledge, it is necessary to teach in the mother tongue in primary and secondary school. Therefore, higher education in a foreign language is easier for developing countries with poor economies", Mustafa Feyruz, Somali language expert.

"In primary education, it is best to have the child in his or her mother tongue. Studies in native language and foreign languages ​​have shown that children learn their language when they grow up. It paves the way for them to learn other languages ​​more easily”, Mustafa added.

Teachers

Good, well-mannered, far-sighted, transformative students are produced by teachers who are prepared to teach and train people. The teacher is an effective human capital producer. Needless to say that a qualified teacher is the primary school-related factor affecting student achievement, and they are essential for quality education. Overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teacher training, and lack of professional development during their careers have a negative effect on learning.

In addition to the lack of quality education, there is also a lack of quality teachers. There are hundreds of schools in the country with thousands of students who do not have well-trained teachers to guide them in the right direction. There are some good, but very few, teachers. Some teachers do not have a teaching degree, yet are teachers. Some have a university degree but not a teaching degree. Despite all this, we are still struggling to find a good teacher. It is always important to pay special attention to teacher development so that successful students can be role models.

"We want to train 40,000 teachers, 30% of whom will be women, to make a difference," said  Mohamed Abbi.

I would recommend that the way we teach should be changed from a book and a pen to just learning and adding things that can build the minds of children such as a set of facilities for play and learning. The importance of early childhood education/kindergarten is overwhelming. Children who take part in early childhood education programs improve social skills and do better in school. They also learn essential life skills that stay with them forever. Most importantly, preschool is a place where children have fun in a safe and loving environment. Kids will love attending schools passionately.

Children need their own curriculum in their native language with activities to develop their critical thinking. When curricula are available, the most important thing that needs to be found or produced is teachers who are experienced in teaching, trained, understanding their students, ethically dealing with them, and then enabling students to have a safe environment to learn. It is certain that education in Somalia will change a lot.

Children's brains are influenced by both their genes and their environment. Babies are born ready to learn, with around 90 percent of brain development occurring in the first five years of life. The early years are important, as to how the brain grows is strongly influenced by what's happening in a child's environment and their interactions with the people around them.

Children who participate in quality preschool programs are more likely to arrive at school equipped with the social, cognitive, and emotional skills they need to help them to continue learning. These benefits extend well beyond primary school. Higher levels of educational success, employment, and social skills have all been linked to moderate levels of participation in quality early childhood education.