Higher Education in semi-autonomous State of Puntland,

Somalia

prepared for:

Dr. Nur Sykiran Akmal Bint Ismail

prepared by:

Abdirahman Dahir Jama (818374)

MAY 10TH 2015

BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOMALIA

The beginning of higher education in Somalia can be traced back to 1954 when the Higher Institute of Law and Economics was established in Mogadishu, then the second capital of Somalia.

It is noted that before the collapse of the Central government all the institutions of higher education were clustered around the capital Mogadisho and this consequently precipitated a crisis on how to re-establish higher education on a national scale which provides to all regions of the federal Republic of Somalia.

sources: Federal Ministry of Higher Education, somalia

HIGHER EDUCATION BACKGROUND IN SEMI-AUTONOMOUS STATE OF PUNTLAND

Higher Education is characterized by high and relevant standards of quality with clearly articulated pathways to opportunities for knowledge and skills development. That is why University education is universally perceived as playing a crucial role in national development.

the fact that Puntland has in recent years been making considerable efforts to address higher education issues, the majority of higher education providers are still ill equipped and managed. there are a number of local institutions of higher learning registered by the government of Puntland.

BACKGROUND CONTINUE... However, despite the gradual expansion of higher education

over the recent past in Puntland, challenges to access and equity remain. These include: inadequate capacity to cater for the growing demand for more places; mismatch between skills acquired by university graduates and the imbalance between institutions; gender and regional disparities.

There are 4,058 students enrolled in the 8 universities, of whom 3,286 (81%) are male, and only 771 (19%) are female. The 6 colleges currently enrolment 1,260 students of whom 970 (77%) are male and 290 (23%) female.

Sources: Ministry of Education, Puntland, Somalia

ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION

Puntland State has recognized the need for strengthening its higher education in order to produce competent and human resource that would support development needs of the region.

An analysis of the needs provided by the stakeholders indicates that there is inadequate manpower to support delivery of services in many areas of government. Enrolment in schools are low compared to eligible candidates who are currently out of school.

CONTINUE............ there is need to undertake a manpower survey to establish

the extent of the need and hence be able to relate to capacity required in the existing institutions as well be able to determine further expansion of higher education and training opportunities. The consistency of statistics in training has been hampered by the destruction of records and physical infrastructure which resulted from the war.

The higher education has strengths and weaknesses which may hinder development of higher education.

WEAKNESSES,OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

WEAKNESSES Limited coordination among higher education institutions Weak trained managements staff Inadequate resources (Human, Financial and Material resources) Un-harmonized academic standards Lack of Quality assurance mechanisms

OPPORTUNITIES Expending secondary education and increasing number of secondary leavers every year. expanding of communication and technology companies. Potential local qualified manpower locally and internationally. Community confidence and contribution Somali Diaspora support to Higher Education Institutions( becoming lecturers, Deans,) International partners support( UN, European Union, and others Educational

organizations)

CONTINUE....

THREATS Lack of national plan and state policy toward development Unstable relationship between Puntland state and the Federal Government Low income of of some families Inadequate of well trained human resource. Luck of state fund. Crises of legal entity of higher education institutions (private, public, community

owned).

Good quality University Education provision is limited by the levels of resources, both human and financial

Existing University Education in Puntland is expensive which becomes a barrier to entry for a lot of learners

Gender equality is the big issue in higher education sectors

KEY SPECIFIC PROBLEMS

OBJECTIVES THROUGH (HE) The main policy objectives for higher education will be geared toward promoting

equitable access and to improving the quality and relevance of available higher education programmes

Producing high level human capital needed for accelerating the socio-economic development of the state considering the economic needs of Puntland context like livestock and fisheries.

Providing knowledge, skills and services that will help to solve the human resource problems facing society.

Tapping universal knowledge, including key technological advances, with a view to harnessing it for state development and advancing, preserving, harness and disseminating knowledge and other desirable values.

Developing and nurturing creativity, innovativeness, critical thinking and research among students.

04/15/23

Key policies for the Ministry of Education and Commission of Higher Education

Clear processes and conditions for registration and accreditation;

Accession to relevant processes of quality assurance;

Accession to processes of integration and compliance;

Agreement to public scrutiny of financial status and programme quality;

A plan for the incorporation of the foundation programme into the school

system will be developed and implemented.

POLICY STATEMENTS

POLICY FRAMEWORK

In order to address the above issues, the Government’s immediate policy priority

is to provide a framework for sustainable, competitive and autonomous national

university system.

Such a policy objective will take into account the establishment of Commission of

Higher Education (CHE) that will come up with blueprint for the establishment of

public university and strengthen the existing private universities in terms of

quality, relevance and responsiveness to the market needs while at the same time

address critical issues such as reduction of wastage, need to be demand-driven,

gender sensitive, technologically informed, research supported, democratically

managed and globally recognized and marketable.

STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS KEY POLICY ISSUES

Create funds for increased investments in university education; training and research;

Increase Government contribution and identify donor support to fund establishment

of a public university; Provide adequate support for scholarships and affirmative

action to ensure equitable access; Work with existing private universities to develop

and implement capacity building programmes for academics and university managers;

Coordinate, through CHE, a national accreditation system for all tertiary institutions

and universities as a means of guaranteeing quality education and training.

Fully implementing the five year Education sector strategic plan that already

government established in 2013

STRATEGIC VISION TOWARDS HIGHER EDUCATION BY ( VISION ESSP 2017 )

The Punland’s strategic vision for higher education is to design and provide clearly articulated pathways to opportunities for advanced knowledge and skills development that are characterized by high standards of quality and are relevant to national development and the needs of the economy.

Establish an integrative mechanism for coordination of higher education in Puntland.

Enforce quality assurance measures and the required regulations and conditions for any higher education provider whether local or external who establishes a university in Puntland.

EQUALITY AND EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Equal access of women and men to higher education has been an important aspect of Puntland government and identified by the international community as a key measure of progress towards gender equality.

the ministry of higher education in Puntland has came up an idea in order to improve women’s eduction particularly higher education and greated a Gender Unit division.

However after they greated that division , a women’s higher education has improved alot and the gross enrolment from The current, 20% are women and the men are, 60% but women’s enrolment raised to 40% in higher education

Sources: State Ministery of Women & Family Affairs

OUTCOMES The first thing that the government has improved is to build a great high school systems

that makes easy for every student to not struggle in his/her University studies and there

is a final exam or centralized exam for all students who graduated in higher schools

around region.

the quality of universities in Puntland has improved recent years. They are offering many

different faculties and facilities are better now .There are more then nine universities

and colleges some of them are international from neighboring countries.

And also they give scholarships to the students mostly who cannot afford to pay his/her

tuition fees or student who got high grade in Centralized Exam.

OUTCOMES CONTINUE...... however the ministry of higher education has been working to look for scholarships for

the students to other countries, like Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Jordan, Russia and turkey.

Fortunately, last two years after the government implemented this vision of education.

There many students who get full scholarship from Turkey, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Jordan

mostly are medicine students. And that scholarships has given equally to every body

who deserve to get this full scholarship.

in addition to that, the government has made a significant improvement in gross

enrolment, net enrolment and reduction in drop out rates; improve completion and

transition, valid certification of achievement for all students whether proceeding to

further studies, employment, community or home; knowledge, skills, attitudes and

values that promote further learning and a constructive and satisfying lifestyle.

CONCLUSION However, if the government converts these policies ,already suggested , the education in

region especially in higher education will be better and quality than now .by the way

these Education Policies and Strategies 2013-2017 is the framework that will guide

donor led initiatives aimed at improving and making the education in Puntland at higher

level.

all these development projects and programmes will be implemented. Some of these

are programmes are financed through bilateral and multilateral assistance. The key

development partners in the education sector include the European Union, UNICEF,

Daikonia, UNESCO, USAID, Save the Children, TASS ,AET, CfBT ,DFID, Danida, Italy and

United Kingdom among others agencies.

CONCLUSION Government has played an integral role in coordinating and financing recurrent costs in

the education sector. However, the Government budget of 3% to the Ministry is not

sufficient enough to finance its annual recurrent expenditure.

RECOMMENDATIONS The insignificant number of female higher education lecturers are untenable and flies in

the face of gender balance in the teaching profession. It also negatively influences the

female student enrolment numbers. policies leading to the recruitment of a significant

number of female higher education lecturers should be introduced.

the government and particularly, the Ministries of Education should establish a

regulatory framework for post-secondary education in order to ensure: that there is a

balance between the number of secondary school leavers seeking higher education and

the universities’ absorptive capacity; that admissions to various faculties are based on the

local economy’s perceived need for trained manpower and technical subjects are given

priority over other subjects

The End