This study delves into the education policies and strategic plans of Somaliland, employing qualitative research methods to gather data from various sources such as education policies, sector strategic plans, analysis reports, and curriculum frameworks.
The findings reveal that the education system in Somaliland has been influenced by Western curricula, highlighting existing shortcomings in addressing access, equity, relevance, and quality of education. Major challenges identified include the absence of standardized policy frameworks, insufficient funding and resources, a shortage of qualified teachers and leaders, a lack of unified curricula and language policies, low enrollment rates, high student dropout rates, unfavorable school environments, and inadequate education data. The study suggests practical implications such as establishing a well-designed education framework, developing unified national curricula and language policies, enhancing teacher and leader quantity and quality, increasing education budget and resources, and improving quality assurance and data systems in the country.
Purpose of the Study and Research Methodology
- This article discusses a study that focuses on analyzing the education policies and strategic plans in Somaliland.
- Qualitative research methodology was chosen for this study, which involves gathering non-numerical data to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences.
- Data collection methods included reviewing existing education policies, strategic plans, analysis reports, and curriculum frameworks specific to Somaliland.
- Additionally, data were gathered through key informant interviews with five high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Education and through focus group discussions.
Influence of Western Curricula and Identified Shortcomings
- The study findings indicate that the education system in Somaliland has been influenced by Western curricula since its establishment.
- The current education policy implementation in Somaliland is highlighted to have deficiencies in addressing crucial aspects such as access, equity, relevance, and quality of education.
- Some of the major challenges identified include the absence of standardized policy frameworks, inadequate funding, limited educational resources, shortage of qualified teachers and leaders, lack of unified curricula, absence of a national language instructional policy, low student enrollment, high dropout rates, unfavorable school environments, and insufficient education data.
Recommendations for Improvement
- To address the challenges identified, the study suggests practical implications such as establishing a well-designed education framework.
- Developing unified national curricula and language policies can help in standardizing the education system.
- Enhancing both the quantity and quality of teachers and educational leaders is crucial for improving the overall education sector.
- Increasing the education budget and allocating more resources can help in overcoming financial constraints.
- Improving quality assurance mechanisms and enhancing data systems are essential steps towards enhancing the education policy practices in Somaliland
Analyzing The Education Policies And Sector Strategic Plans Of Somaliland
By Tadesse Melesse & Fuad A. Obsiye
Tadesse Melesse
Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Correspondence
Fuad A. Obsiye
PhD Candidate in Educational Policy and Leadership at Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; Director of School of Graduate Studies at University of Hargeisa, Hargeisa, Somaliland
Cogent Education, Volume 9, Issue 1 (2022)
Cogent Education is a leading multidisciplinary open-access journal, publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed articles across the breadth of educational research. The journal is led by Editor-in-Chief Professor John C.K. Lee (The Education University of Hong Kong), supported by an expert international Editorial Board. Our academic editors take an objective and constructive approach to peer review, ensuring each manuscript is evaluated on its own scholarly merits and research integrity. Article-level metrics let the research speak for itself.
Article: 2152545 | Received 20 Feb 2022, Accepted 21 Nov 2022, Published online: 15 Dec 2022
Abstract
This study examines the education policies and education sector strategic plans of Somaliland. For this purpose, qualitative research was adopted and data were collected from reviewing education policies, education sector strategic plans, the joint review of the education sector analysis reports, and the curriculum frameworks of Somaliland. Besides, data were obtained through key informant interviews with purposely selected five higher officials of the Ministry of Education and through focus group discussions. Findings suggest that since its inception, the Somaliland education system was influenced by the Western curricula and the current education policy practice also has its own shortcomings to address the required access, equity, relevance, and quality of education. The lack of standardized policy frameworks, low funding, scarce resources, a limited number of qualified teachers and educational leaders, lack of unified curricula, absence of national language instructional policy, low enrolment, and high dropout rates of students, lack of favorable school environment, and shortage of required education data were among the major challenges deterring the education policy practices of Somaliland. Accordingly, establishing a well-designed education framework; developing unified national curricula and language policy; enhancing the quantity and quality of teachers and school leaders; increasing the education budget and educational resources, and improving the quality assurance and data systems in the country are some of the major practical implications.
Keywords: Access, Education Policy, Curriculum, Equity, Quality, Relevance
PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
This study scrutinizes the education policies and education sector strategic plans of Somaliland through policy document reviews, and key informant interviews and focus group discussions with education experts of the Ministry of Education and Science of Somaliland. Exploring the education policy practices of Somaliland and its implementation challenges can help politicians, policymakers, education experts, researchers, teachers, school leaders, the community, and other pertinent stakeholders in the education sector (GOs, NGOs & Charity Organizations) to make the indispensable preparations and timely interventions.
Furthermore, instead of investing scarce resources chaotically for the education system, this research report identifies major education policy execution-related challenges, curriculum standards-related challenges, language-related challenges, teacher, and educational leadership quality problems, and educational resource and funding challenges that entail exigent interventions of the necessary actors to improve the overall education quality of Somaliland in particular and the neighboring countries in general.
1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Nations around the world are currently embarking on deep reforms of their education systems. We live in an increasingly globalized world, where countries are subject to massive economic, political, and technological changes. Education is also undergoing rapid transformations under the effects of globalization (Bautista & Ortega-Ruíz, 2015). In a world experiencing rapid change, education plays a major role in promoting social cohesion and peaceful concomitance (UNESCO, 2017). These days, education is also considered one of the basic human rights. Hence, any country dedicated to economic growth, and political and cultural development has to organize and provide a meaningful quality education that can help citizens play an active role in social and economic development (UNESCO, 2017). As well, education is a key component in creating a peaceful and prosperous society and building a peaceful community and nation (Ismail, 2009). In this regard, UNESCO (2021) also stated that education has long played a foundational role in the renewal and transformation of human societies, the creation of peaceful coexistence, and to shape the futures we want.
However, despite its importance in shaping our future, education is not always analyzed according to the parameters that have yielded high-quality results in certain educational systems (Bautista & Ortega-Ruíz, 2015). Simply stated, education, which is fit for the purpose, can transform society and to the desired line of development (Hargreaves et al., 2010). That is why the issue of quality education is becoming a global agenda and a demanding task as well (Tadesse, 2018).
The term “quality” is a mysterious concept with no worldwide definitions. Recent international scholars (e.g., Altbach & Hazelkorn, 2018; Wrigley, 2019) agreed on the multi-dimensional and enigmatic nature of quality education. For instance, humanists view quality education as a contribution to sustainable human as well as organizational development (UN, 2017). Pragmatists see it in terms of its own economic, political, social, and cultural visions as well as contexts (Tadesse & Esuyawkal, 2022). Universalists consider the cognitive, social, creative interpersonal and emotional development of students as quality indicators. Quality education by development advocates is perceived as determining the required livelihood of people (Sarin, 2015). Quality of education is also coined to student’s level of achievement and the relevance of learning to the world of employment (USAID, 2018) and Educationalists view it as “fitness for purpose” (Harvey & Green, 1993) and can be measured in terms of input, process, and output (UNICEF, 2000).
Although quality is at the heart of education in the knowledge society and global competition, ensuring quality education remains a challenge for policymakers (World Bank, 2014). In looking for ways to improve it, most countries focus on understanding the complex nature of quality and the weak link between policy and practice (USAID, 2018). It has also become evidenced over the past decades that educational quality indicators such as teachers, students and textbook ratio, retention, and other universal criteria at all levels of education are not adequately achieved in many countries of the world (UNESCO, 2017).
Moreover, in regions with limited resources like sub-Saharan Africa, where increased access has become a strategy for educational development at various levels (primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.), the quality of education is often neglected (Africa Development Bank, 2012; Materu, 2007). The circumstance surrounding the newly emerged Somaliland’s educational sector is not an exception. Like any other African country, Somaliland’s education can be traced back to pre-colonial traditional education through colonial and post-colonial, western-style modern education.
Pre-colonial Periods: Prior to the colonial era, as pointed out by Bennars et al., (1996), Morah (2000), and the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES; 2020), Somaliland education was dominated by religious Koranic education. Koranic schools provided traditional Islamic education which developed into Islamic philosophy, Arabic grammar, Arabic literature, and Sharia Law (Bennars et al., 1996; Morah, 2000). However, the Koranic school still forms an important component of community education and culture in Somaliland (MUA, 2013 as cited in Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2020). But, in the late 19th century, the Western education system was introduced, in which the first public school had been built in Berbera in 1898 and in Bulhar and in Zeila in 1905 (Aderemi, 1982 cited in MoEHE, 2012).
However, during the colonial periods, the introduction of the Western education system into Somaliland was influenced by the British (1898–1969) and the socialist countries’ educational ideologies (1970–1990). Further, the influence of the educational philosophies of the Westerns continued in the post-conflict transformation periods (after 1990) through international NGOs and UN agencies with the intention of the rehabilitation and development of Somaliland’s education (Bekalo et al., 2003). Consequently, the different literature and the study of Ahmed and Bradford (2011) categorized this colonial-type education history of Somaliland into three broad periods: Colonial rule (1937–1960), the post-colonial education provision (1960–1990), and education in a post-conflict transformation (1990—the present).
Colonial rule (1937–1960): The Somaliland Context: By 1937 Somaliland was a Muslim British colony. The colonial government attempted to introduce a formal education system based on literacy and arithmetic. The colonial education was aimed at educating the administrative staff of the British protectorate though primary education was the highest level one could reach; and the medium of instruction at that time was English. However, local resistance to the new education system arose because it was associated with colonialism, the introduction of Christianity, and the distortion of the traditional ruling system (Ahmed & Bradford, 2011).
Post-colonial education provision (1960–1990): The Republic of Somalia Context: In 1960 both Somaliland (the British protectorate) and Somalia, who became a UN Trust territory under Italian administration in 1950 (the Italian colony), gained independence. After independence, these two regions united and created the Republic of Somalia. As the Ministry documents (e.g., Ministry of Education & Higher Studies. (MoEHS), 2015; MoECHE, 2017) revealed, the dominant political and educational ideologies during this post-colonial era (1960–1990) were socialist or communist-oriented; the new Republic of Somalia encouraged collectivity; and the education policy was centralized. During that period, education and schooling was a political tool discouraging [implicitly capitalist] ideas such as individual innovation, invention, and imagination that were essential for successful entrepreneurship. Education policy development and delivery mechanisms were completely state-controlled (Ahmed & Bradford, 2011). These restrictions were seen as leading to social stagnation, widespread poverty, and under-development. As a result, the education provision was changed to correct this post-colonial ideological stance.
The post-conflict transformation (1990-the present): The Somaliland context: This period was Somaliland’s education reconstruction that followed the 1990 civil war. After Somaliland reclaimed its statehood and restored its legitimate government in 1991 and its self-declaration of independence, it established its own government system and managed to maintain peace and security in the last two decades and significant improvement has been made in many social and economic sectors, including education services (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies(MoEHS), 2017a).
However, on the eve of the independence declaration in 1990, Somaliland made efforts to revive its education system which ravaged most of the schools and other institutions of learning during the 1988–1991 civil wars in the country. Since 18 May 1991, education has been recognized as a basic human right that should be provided to all citizens (MoEHS, 2015), and attempts to revive schooling started under the trees, since the ruins of former schools still contained unexploded ordinance or booby traps. Later on, school buildings were repaired or rebuilt, private and public schools and colleges were opened at a dramatic rate and a large number of schools received more children (Bekalo et al., 2003). Local and international NGOs have had significant involvement in the rehabilitation and development of Somaliland’s education (Bekalo et al., 2010). Besides, education has consistently become a top priority for the government (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE, 2012).
Acquainted of the value of education to the progress of the country, the new fifteen-year National Education Policy (2015–2030) was developed and took steps to progress the realization of the goals and objectives of its national development agenda (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS, 2015); to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development efforts (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE, 2012); MoEHS, 2015); and to secure Somaliland to be “a nation whose citizens enjoy equitably and quality education” (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a, p. 7). Based on the kickoff of the new national education policy, ESSP (2012–2016) and ESSP (2017–2021) were designed (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE), 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). After the restoration of Somaliland education, primary schools were given the first priority, followed by secondary schools, TVET, and universities (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE, 2012), Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a, and Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2019). As a result of policy initiatives, despite progress in expanding schools at all levels and increasing enrolment and development in Somaliland education, addressing access, equity, and quality of education at all levels are the recurring problems. The limited fund, insufficiently qualified professionals at all levels, low infrastructure for schools, and ineffective data system has had a huge impact on the overall quality of the education system (MoEHS, 2017a; MoES, 2019).
1.2. Problem statement
Regardless of the focus of the education policies and ESSPs Ministry of Education of Somaliland being to achieve access, equity, quality, and relevance of education, the actual implementation of the policies and strategies on the ground was a practical challenge. The findings of the Joint Review of the Education Sectors conducted in 2016 (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS, 2017a) and 2018 (Ministry of Education and Science MoES, 2018) were the true indicators of the actual education policies and education sector programs’ low implementation in the country. As a result, compared to its neighboring East African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan, access to education in Somaliland is very low at all levels. For instance, in 2018/19, Somaliland’s national pre-primary Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) was only 3% compared to Kenya (78.4%; Ministry of Education (MoE), 2019a), Ethiopia (40.7%), Sudan (43%) (FMoE, 2019) and South Sudan (72% in 2017) (MoGEI, 2017). Likewise, the pre-primary Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) of Somaliland was only 2% (MoES, 2019) compared to Kenya (77.2%; Ministry of Education (MoE), 2019a), Ethiopia (36.9 percent; Ministry of Education (MoE, 2019b)) and South Sudan (40% in 2017) (MoGEI, 2017).
Similarly, in 2018/19, Somaliland’s GER of primary education was 29% (MoES, 2019), compared to the GER of Kenya (104%; Ministry of Education (MoE), 2019a) and Ethiopia (104.6%; Ministry of Education (MoE, 2019b). The NER of primary education in Somaliland was only 21% compared to Kenya and Ethiopia, which accounts for 92% and 94.7%, respectively (MoES, 2019; Ministry of Education (MoE), 2019a; Ministry of Education (MoE, 2019b). On the other hand, access to secondary schools in Somaliland is still very low. For instance, in 2018/19, the GER and NER of Somaliland were 18% and 11%, respectively (MoES, 2019). However, in the same year, Kenya’s GER and NER were 70.3% and 52.3%, while Ethiopia’s GER and NER were also 48.5% and 24.1%, respectively (MoE, 2019).
Furthermore, different findings and policy documents of Somaliland showed that equity and quality of education are not significantly improving (MoEHS, 2016; MoES, 2019). Problems that have plagued the quality and relevance of education remain and are further complicated by new challenges such as the quest for sustainable development and academic as well as workplace dishonesty (Katrien, Van & Joke, 2012; MoES, 2019). It has also become evidenced that educational quality indicators such as teachers, students and textbook ratio, retention, and other universal criteria at all levels of education are not adequately achieved (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEH), 2012; MoEHS, 2015; MoES, 2018, 2019).
In contrast to the ambitions of the education policies and education strategic programs of Somaliland, the low access, lack of quality in education, the disparity in the various educational levels, the existence of unsuitable curricula delivered in different languages (Arabic, English, and Somali), a limited number of qualified teachers, low student enrolment (low GER &NER), high student dropout and repetition rates, and shortage of instructional materials were the major challenges affecting the education system (MoES, 2018, 2019). These challenges could also be manifested in the demands not only in the new policy frameworks but also in the policy itself, and the result of policy execution (MoEHS, 2015; MoES, 2018, 2019). Accordingly, investigating policy practices, education policy enactment gaps, and challenges of the education policy execution of Somaliland is a timely concern. Besides, the dearth of research in Somaliland on education policy practice and related issues triggered us to conduct this policy analysis research.
1.3. Purpose of the study
Undertaking the study on education policy issues of Somaliland is more useful for policymakers, education professionals, governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations to know the current practice of the education policies, the policy execution gaps, and the major impeding factors affecting the execution of the education policies. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to analyze the education policies and education sector development plans of Somaliland. More specifically, in this study we sought to analyze the implementation of the education policies of Somaliland; identify the policy implementation gaps; and investigate the major impending factors that are affecting the provision of quality education in Somaliland. Accordingly, we posed the following guiding questions: (1) How are the education policies of Somaliland implemented? What are the identified gaps of the education policies and education sector strategic plans? (2) What major encumbering factors are affecting the provision of the education policies of Somaliland?
1.4. The scope of the study
The scope of this study was on the analysis of the education policies and education sector strategic plans of Somaliland. The study also tried to explore the current practices of education policies, the identified gaps, and the major encumbering factors that are affecting the policy execution of the country. For this purpose, data were collected by reviewing the different policy documents and through key informant interviews and focus group discussions with Ministry of Education and Science officials and experts of Somaliland.
2. Method
2.1. Research Approach
For this study, the qualitative approach was employed to get data that captures the different dimensions from documents and from participants’ experiences, personal perspectives, feelings, conceptions, and beliefs from the inside through a process of empathetic understanding of the topic under discussion (Miles et al., 2014; Saldana, 2011).
In order to reconstruct the reality held by the research participants in their natural settings and seek convergence or triangulation, qualitative researchers prefer to use two or more data sources and methods (Bowen, 2009; Bryman, 2012; Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Yin, 2009). This triangulation can provide a confluence of evidence that breeds credibility (Bowen, 2009). As Creswell and Creswell (2018) supplemented, qualitative researchers can collect multiple forms of data by examining documents, observing behavior, or interviewing participants, rather than relying on a single data source. As a result, this study also employed document reviews, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs) as the main data-gathering tools since they are believed to be efficient, cost-effective, and manageable (Cardno, 2018). In order to determine whether the findings are accurate or not, the data obtained from document reviews were triangulated or substantiated by the data from KIIs and FGDs with the MoES leaders and experts who have the expertise and experiences in their education policy implementation practices. Finally, using the relevant information from these sources, interpretations and discussions were made in line with the identified thematic areas. The major themes addressed were: overview of the practice and gaps of the education policies and sectors’ strategic plans and the major encumbering factors that are affecting the provision of the education policies of Somaliland.
2.2. Data sources and sampling procedures
In qualitative research, participants or sites that will best help the researchers understand the problem and the research question can be selected purposefully (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). To this end, the main data sources of this study were purposely selected policy documents, key informants, and focus group discussants.
The major policy documents, as data sources, include: (1) the national education policies (the 2013 national education policy draft 1, the 2015 national education policy (2015–2030); the 2010 Somaliland national TVET education policy); (2) the education sector strategic plans (The ESSP I, 2007–2011; ESSP II, 2012 − 2016 and ESSP III, 2017–2021); (3) the joint review of the education sector (JRES) reports (the 2016 and 2018 joint review of the education sector synthesis reports of MoES); (4) the early-grade assessment documents (2019 early-grade reading and mathematics assessments results for Grade 3 students); and (5) the early childhood, primary and secondary curriculum frameworks were purposely selected, garnered and documented.
On the other hand, key informants and focus group discussants were purposely selected from MoES. The chief manager of the office of the Minister, the director of the department of curriculum development and management of the ministry of education, the technical advisor of the department of planning and policy of the ministry of education, the director of the department of primary schools of the ministry of education, and the director of the national teacher education college were purposely selected key informants of the study. Also, those purposely selected and well-experienced education experts of early childhood, primary, secondary, TVET, and higher education of MoES were other data sources.
2.3. Data gathering tools
The major data-gathering instruments of this study were: document reviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions.
2.3.1. Document reviews
Document review is a way of extracting information/data by reviewing existing documents. For this purpose, relevant policy documents such as education policies, ESSPs, JRES reports, curriculum frameworks, and early-grade assessment documents of Somaliland were purposely selected and collected with the permission of the MoES. The reviewed data were coded and finally, themes with similar contents were identified. In the review process, the two researchers participated. To ensure that valuable information is attained through the review of multiple documents in a consistent and reliable manner, a systematically developed document review protocol or checklist was used by the two reviewers. The document reviews were made to understand what was planned, what was practiced, and what challenges prevailed during the execution of different education policies of Somaliland.
2.3.2. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)
The other data-gathering tool was key informant interviews (KIIs). Key informant interviews are qualitative in-depth interviews with people who have first-hand knowledge about the case under investigation. To this end, key informants from the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), who are supposed to have rich knowledge and first-hand information about the policy documents and the education practice were selected purposely using a snowball sampling technique. Thus, the chief manager of the office of the Minister, the director of the department of curriculum development and management of the ministry of education, the technical advisor of the department of planning and policy of the ministry of education, the director of the department of primary schools of the ministry of education, and the director of the national teacher education college were key participants of the study.
For the interview, a key informant interview protocol that focuses on questions pertinent to critically analyzing the education policies and education sector strategic plans of Somaliland was used. Accordingly, an individual face-to-face semi-structured interview was made with the key informants in order to probe much information from them until the information is saturated. The interview tried to address the historical development of the education system; the practice of the education policies; the quality of teachers and school leaders; the quality of the curriculum development process; the medium of instruction and language policy; and major factors affecting the execution of the education policies of Somaliland. To keep their responses confident, the interview response of higher officials and experts from MoES was analyzed anonymously using codes.
2.3.3. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
In qualitative group interviews, the researchers conduct face-to-face interviews with participants that range from four to six interviewees in each group. In order to triangulate or corroborate results obtained from KIIs, focus group discussants from other groups of MoES were selected purposely. Thus, the FGD participants were the MoES early childhood education expert, primary education expert, secondary education expert, TVET education expert, and higher education expert. To elicit views and opinions from the participants, the group interviews involved open-ended questions related to the historical development of Somaliland education, practices of the education policies, strategic plans, curriculum frameworks, and challenges faced during policy implementation.
2.4. Data analysis techniques
Qualitative researchers typically work inductively and build patterns, categories, and themes from the bottom up by organizing the data into increasingly more abstract units of information. Subsequently, as indicated in Figure , the data analysis processes of this study followed: organizing and preparing the row data for data analysis, understanding the general senses of data, coding the data by taking text data or pictures gathered during data collection [in this case, hand coding was used], segmenting sentences or paragraphs into categories, and labelling those categories with a term based in the actual language of the participant, generating a description and themes and finally representing the description and themes in the narrative passage.
Figure 1. Data Analysis processes in qualitative research.
Generally, for this study, an analysis of documents, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were made. Document analysis is a form of qualitative research in which documents are constructed by the researchers to give voice and meaning to an assessment topic (Bowen, 2009). Analyzing documents incorporates coding contents into themes similar to how focus groups or interview transcripts are analyzed (Bowen, 2009; Krippendorff, 2004; O’Leary, 2014). The advantage of document analysis is the availability of documents, usually at little or no cost to the researcher (Cardno, 2018), the unobtrusive nature that makes it non-reactive (Bowen, 2009; Bryman, 2012), and its role in data triangulation (Bowen, 2009). To this end, the official policy documents of Somaliland such as education policies, the education sector strategic plans (ESSPs), the joint review of the education sector (JRES) reports and curriculum frameworks, and early-grade assessment documents (EGRA & EGMA) were purposely selected, reviewed, and analyzed. The purpose of using this document analysis was to understand what was planned, what was practiced, and what challenges were prevailing during the execution of different policy frameworks.
Based on the number of occurrences or data within the documents, the information was coded and organized into themes and a form of pattern recognition was considered with the documents’ data and analyzed using thematic analysis (Brown, 2009). During the review process, the major identified themes were: the historical development of the education system of Somaliland’s practice of education policies of Somaliland; identified gaps in the execution of education policies; and major challenges facing the execution of the education policies. Similarly, data from KIIs & FDGs were collected and coded to extract themes based on similar contents. All the data obtained using KIIs and FGDs were audio-recorded based on the consent of the participants. To keep their responses confident, the interview responses of higher officials and experts from MoES were analyzed anonymously using codes.
2.5. Validity and reliability
Validity is one of the strengths of qualitative research and is based on determining whether the findings are accurate from the standpoint of the researcher, the participant, or the readers of an account (Creswell & Miller, 2000). For this purpose, content validity, i.e., the extent to which the assessment questions on the instrument and the scores from these questions are representative of all the possible aspects of the topic, construct, or behaviour that is designed to measure (Miller et al, 2013), was checked and validated. As Bums and Grove(1993) stated, content validity is obtained from three sources: literature, representatives of the relevant populations, and experts to check the validity of the results. As a result, in this study, based on the professionals’ subjective judgment to determine the extent to which the scale was designed to measure a trait of interest (Bums & Grove, 1993), document reviews, KIIs, and FGDs were used for the same purpose. Accordingly, in order to check the validity of the data obtained from numerous documents, triangulating different data sources and examining evidence from the sources were made to build a coherent justification for themes. In this case, the two researchers reviewed the selected documents based on the agreed criteria separately. Then, member checking and peer debriefing were also made to determine the accuracy of the findings. Finally, rich and thick descriptions were used to convey the findings.
On the other hand, to check the reliability of the data, transcripts were checked to minimize mistakes made during transcription; data were continually compared with the codes, and by writing memos about the codes and their definitions, the communication among the coders coordinated by sharing the analysis, and codes developed by the two researchers were cross-checked and results that are derived were compared.
3. Results and discussion
The aim of this study was to examine the education policies and education sector development plans of Somaliland. To that end, data were obtained on the education policy practices, the education policy implementation gaps, and the major impending factors affecting the provision of quality education in Somaliland from document reviews (different time education policies, ESSPs, education sector reviews, and curriculum frameworks), KIIs, and FGDs. Finally, it was thematically categorized, interpreted, and discussed using a review or related literature. The themes of analysis include: overviewing the practices and gaps of the education policies and sectors’ strategic plans of Somaliland and the major encumbering factors that are affecting the provision of the education policies of Somaliland.
3.1. Overview of the practice of the education policies and sectors’ strategic plans
Since 18 May 1991, when Somaliland formed its own government, education has been recognized as a basic human right that should be provided to all citizens, irrespective of gender, as enshrined in the country’s constitution (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2015). The country also recognized education as a necessary tool that provides the human resources needed in the efforts toward the national development of a country (, ; Ministry of Education & Higher Studies. (MoEHS), 2015). As a result, the new fifteen-year National Education Policy (2015–2030) was developed and took steps to advance the attainment of the goals and objectives of its national development agenda (MoEHS, 2015). This new education policy was designed to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development efforts and the emergence of expertise that trigger sustainable national development based on the relevance of its educational programme (Ministry of Education & Higher Studies. (MoEHS), 2015;). The policy also aimed at securing Somaliland to be “a nation whose citizens enjoy equitably and quality education” (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a, p. 7).
As a philosophy, the 2015 Somaliland Education Policy was focused on mounting the national unity and overall development of Somaliland; education to be based on Islamic values and principles; enhancing the capacity and building ethical and moral values of every child regardless of gender, ethnic, economic, and/or social background (MoEHS, 2015). On the other hand, in this policy Somaliland envisions education as “ … .a means to prepare all learners to become life-long learners equipped with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be successfully productive citizens”(p. 8). In order to achieve its vision, “providing a quality and relevant education that will prepare every student to be successful in life with the partnership of its parents and communities” was the mission statement (MoEHS, 2015; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a).
In order to realize the visions and missions, the acquisition and application of relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to fulfill its potential for development were highly aspiring (MoEHS, 2015; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017b). Hence, concern for proper management and utilization of resources; a sense of responsibility for producing qualified professionals at all levels; the growth of civic consciousness in an informed and socialized citizenry committed to a culture of peace, justice, acceptance of diversity, and resolving differences without violence in the context of Islam were crucial goals and strategies set (MoEHS, 2015).
Based on the outset and hallmarks of the new national education policy, MoEHE and MoEHS of Somaliland also designed ESSP (2012–2016) and ESSP (2017–2021), respectively. The delivery of good-quality primary education for many school-age children was the utmost priority for Somaliland ESSP 2012–16 (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE), 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). The cost-effective provision of relevant secondary, TVET, university, and continuous teacher development were other priorities (Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE), 2012). Despite realizing improvements in terms of primary and secondary education in ESSP 2012–2016, the education goals were not achieved in the nation (Ministry of Education & Higher Studies. (MoEHS), 2015, p. 9). Early childhood education [ECE] was not totally given due emphasis with the GER only 3.2%; the standardized curriculum was not prepared for it; and teachers were not well trained. The GER of primary and secondary education were also 44.3% and 21.3%, respectively. Similarly, the Net Enrolment Ratio [NER] of primary education was 33.7% and secondary education was 10.5%.
In terms of equity issues, especially for rural communities, the urban poor, pastoralists, girls, and those with special needs remained the most excluded from education (MoEHS, 2017a). The KII results of the Ministry’s education experts also elucidated that “equitable education (mainly for the remote inaccessible nomadic rural areas) was not properly attained in Somaliland during the ESSP 2012–2016.” (KIId).
However, with the intention to lead the education sector and the country towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to tackle the challenges identified in ESSP 2012–2016, ESSP 2017–2021 was developed and committed to achieving the targets of the education system set by the National Education Policy of 2015–2030. The targets include: (1) increase and expand access to education (i.e., the GER for ECE from 3.2% to 14.3%, for primary education from 44.3% to 67.4%, and for secondary education from 21.3% to 35%); (2) improve the quality of learning outcomes; (3) promote equity and inclusion for all students; (4) build human capacity at all levels of education reforms; (5) strengthen the system and review policies in all sub-sectors; (6) increase funding for general education; and (7) monitor and evaluate the execution of the ESSP (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a).
The new ESSP 2017–2021 plan also attempts to improve the enrolment rate of ECE, primary education, non-formal education, secondary education, TVET, and Higher Education as major pillars of the education sector (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017b). To this end, a new draft ECE curriculum framework was designed to prepare children joining primary education by equipping them with the necessary competencies and skills (Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2020). Yet, the limited financial and human resources, high rate of illiteracy, scarcity of qualified teaching force, mobile and pastoral society, limited water sources and health, high unemployment rate, poor teaching and learning environment, poor curriculum, shortage of relevant quality teaching and learning materials, and absence of unified and effective quality assurance systems were the bottle-necks that affected the quality of this education sub-sector (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a).
Besides, as the 2018 review report of the Ministry indicated, the ESSP 2017–2021 target was not achieved in the first year of its implementation due to: insufficient funding, poor school infrastructure, scarce resources in public schools, lack of adequately trained and motivated teachers (about 50% were unqualified), ineffective regulations of MoES on teacher recruitment, employment and transfer, gender inequality, poor communication within the MoES and regions, lack of official and reliable school-age population data in EMIS, and weak MoES capacity at regional and district levels (MoES, 2018). Consistent with this, the FGD and KII responses also demonstrated that the targets of the sector plan were not successfully achieved in terms of access, equity, and quality of education. For instance, one of the KII’s results attested,
“ … the actual execution of the education policy and education sector strategic plans is low in Somaliland. … there are still many children who are out of school; the overall students’ academic achievement was not showing significant improvements and equitable education to the pastoralists, rural girls and remote and hard-to-reach areas is not succeeded.”(KIIe).
3.1.1. Somaliland education structure
Similar to other countries, Somaliland’s education system comprises early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, technical and vocational education, and tertiary education (MoEHE , 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018).
3.1.1.1. Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Somaliland
In Somaliland, early childhood education, also known as Kindergarten and Koranic school, is very important for the early childhood development before they enter formal schools. ECE helps in the physical, cognitive, language, affective, social, and artistic development of the children (2015; Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2020); contributes to school readiness; and reduces school attrition as well as improves learning outcomes (MoEHS, 2017a; MoES, 2018, 2019, 2020). Due to this, ECE was one priority area in ESSP 2012–16 and ESSP 2017–2021, but practically very little progress has been made (MoEHS, 2017a; MoES, 2019). The GER and NER achievement of ECE was only 3% and 2% respectively in 2019(MoES, 2019). Moreover, ECE was not fully integrated into formal education and existed only in some private schools that account for 92% of children whereas public schools account for only 8% (MoEHS , 2017a). Also across regions and in major districts such as Buhodle, Odwayne, Hawd, Salal, Saraar and Sanaag, there was no participation in ECE programs (MoEHS, 2017a; MoES, 2018, 2019;Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2020).
3.1.1.2. Primary education in Somaliland
Somaliland also introduced free primary education in 2011(Barrett, 2011; ESSP, 2017; MoEHS, 2017a). This level consists of eight years of formal schooling (6–13 years) including Alternative Basic Education [ABE] programs and is divided into a four-year-lower primary cycle and a four-year upper primary cycle (MoEHS, 2017a). The hallmark of the 2015 primary education policy of Somaliland focused on providing access to free primary education to all children; enhancing equity, quality, and relevance of primary education; and implementing the requirements of the decentralization policy to the needs of local governments (MoEHS, 2015; 2017a).
In terms of access, despite the primary education sub-sector being the highest priority during ESSP 2012–2016 both the GER and NER were low. For instance, the GER 44.3% and NER of primary education were 44.3% and 37.4% in 2015/16, respectively. Even in 2018/19, both the GER (29%) and NER (21%) of primary education revealed a decreasing trend, which required much focus on this sub-sector (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018, 2019).
The GER and NER data also disclosed that significant inequity existed between urban and rural communities, with more children being out of primary school in rural communities (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2019). For instance, as the MoES (2019) data presented, 78% of the primary enrolment in Somaliland was from urban areas and rural areas only account for 22%. From this, the GER for nomadic, rural, and urban communities were 3.1%, 18.8%, and 56.8%, respectively, revealing that there was inequitable access to education across these three community types (MoES, 2019). Across regions also, in Gabiley, there was a record decrease in enrolment in 2018/19, with the overall progress of −3%, which is due to the drop in female enrolment (−11%) (MoES, 2019). This calls for the earnest attention of education planners and policymakers.
Similarly, the reports of MoES (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a) and MoES (2018) also investigated that the quality of primary education in Somaliland was low. For instance, in the 2019 Early Grade Reading Assessment [EGRA] and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment [EGMA] learning reports of grade 3 students (Wafula, 2019), majority of the students scored below average. Inadequate financial and human resources, low physical infrastructure, the presence of a large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and pastoralist groups (up to 60%), low teacher motivation in rural areas (as 20% of teachers remained unpaid), unfavourable school environment, inadequate teaching-learning materials, and low participation of school committees in school management contributed to problems in providing quality education (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2018).
Similarly, the lack of improved teacher training programs, not building more schools and boarding schools in rural areas for disadvantaged communities, not revising and upgrading the school curriculum, and not expanding women’s education also affected the equity and quality of primary education in Somaliland (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018, 2019). Consistently, as the interview results of KIIc and KIId attested, most of the identified targets were not put into effect due to: the school budget was not increased; fair compensation was not made for public school teachers and principals whose salaries are far lower than those working in the private schools; and the shortage of quality teaching materials. Furthermore, as one of the KII’s responses supplemented, “besides low-quality primary education, even the enrolment rate of rural primary school students of the pastoralist community and hard-to-reach areas was not reviving.” (KIIa).
3.1.1.3. Secondary education in Somaliland
Secondary education in Somaliland refers to post-primary formal education offered to persons who have successfully completed eight years of primary education, passed the centralized national examination, and have met the requisite entry requirements. It takes four years and successful completion is validated by a secondary school leaving examination. Formal secondary education is divided into two: general secondary education and technical institutes (MoEHS, 2015; 2017a; MoES, 2019).
According to the JRES report of Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS; 2017a), enrolment in secondary education is far below enrolment in primary education. For instance, the GER of secondary education in 2014/15 was only 21.3% (25% males and 17% females) and the NER in the same year was 10.5% (boys 11.6% & girls 9%) signifying that 89.6% learners of eligible age (14–17 years) were out of secondary school (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). In 2018/19 too, the GER of secondary education was 18% (21% boys &16% girls), designating that there was a wider gender gap with a GPI of GER 0.71(MoES, 2019). Also, the NER trend for secondary education was only 11% (12% boys and 9% girls) which did not show a major increase in 2018/19 (MoES, 2019). This low enrolment of GER and NER in secondary schools of the nation warranted further investigation to be made for the causes and to devise solutions.
On the other hand, there was a wider variation in students’ enrolment in public and private schools, in urban and rural areas, and across the six regions. The report of Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS; 2017a) and MoES (2019) elucidated that
“ … out of 182 secondary schools,102(56%) were government-owned schools whereas, 80 (44%) secondary schools were owned by non-government stakeholders” Yet, most private secondary schools that constituted 56.6% of the student’s enrolment of 2018/19 were concentrated in urban areas. … Nationally also, the majority of secondary school students (97%) were coming from urban areas and only 3% were from rural areas due to shortage of secondary schools”. (p. 18)
The disparities in enrolment between urban and rural secondary schools were also common across the six main regions of Somaliland (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2019). Among the regions or districts, Tog-dher, Maroodi-jeex and Awdal have 31, 51 & 23 secondary schools, respectively; whereas, Hawd and Odweyne districts have 2 secondary schools each and Salal has 3 secondary schools (MoES, 2019). These inequalities, more specifically for pastoralists, rural communities, urban poor, girls, and those with special needs groups remain the most excluded from education (MoES, 2019). In this regard, the focus group discussants also showed the same finding. Consistent with the documentary data and the FGD results, one of the key interview informants (KIIa) strongly elucidated that, “the low gross and net enrolment of secondary school students, as well as the equity of education, needs much attention by all education concerned stakeholders.” As the key informant extended,
“ … there is a wider disparity in the enrolment rate of secondary school students mainly for pastoralists and rural communities than urban dwellers; for girls than boys; and in remote regions such as Hawd and Odweyne.” (KIIa).
3.1.1.4. Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
Donor-driven TVET has been introduced in Somaliland since 2005. But, as the UNESCO feasibility study (2009 cited in Ministry of Education and higher Education (MoEHE , 2012) have highlighted, this donor-driven program was not self-sustainable and has many challenges. Later on, in order to provide a better “fit” of the TVET training system with the employment (demand) system, the Somaliland National Policy Education gave priority to TVET to emphasize developing appropriate skills through practical-oriented training and work experience; to cultivate a firm link with the Industrial Sector and the world of work; and to provide technical knowledge and vocational skills that stimulate the economic growth of Somaliland (MoEHE, 2012),
Recognizing the strategic importance of TVET as an alternative path to accelerate the economic growth of Somaliland, emphasis was also given in the ESSP 2012–16 (MoES, 2012) and ESSP 2017–2021 (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018). During the ESSP 2012–16, Burao and Hargeisa Technical Institute as Secondary level Technical schools were re-established (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017b). Moreover, the 2018 priorities of the TVET were focused to review and develop a market-driven curriculum, implement, and finance national TVET policy and strategy, training instructors in pedagogy and new technology, standardize criteria for trainee intake, conducting yearly tracer and feasibility study, improving coordination of TVET including private sector role and awareness raising campaign on the importance of TVET (MoES, 2018). Nevertheless, despite some improvements in the sub-sector, the TVET program in Somaliland was not effective.
The fact that the TVET program was fragmented, donor-driven, or project-based, under-funded, have weak policy operation with no National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF), and lacked management capacity (MoEHE , 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoES), 2017a) required sizable reorganization in relation to coordination, policy, and structural reforms, as well as relevant and market-driven training programs (MoES, 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017b). As the majority of TVET institutions were privately owned and administered independently from the MoEHS on a project-based approach, its sustainability was a major challenge (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). Moreover, the TVET sub-sector has a weak human resource base. There was not enough professional staff at the Ministry of Education who was trained in TVET to guide, supervise, and monitor its development at the national, regional, and district levels. Moreover, TVET management was weak from the central Ministry to the ground level (MoEHE , 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a).
The FGD results as well as the reports of Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS; 2017a) further supplemented that the TVET department at the Ministry of Education continued to suffer from a lack of organization, lack of reliable data, limited access to quality skills training and trainers, and a disjuncture between private and public vocational services. In this regard, the majority of the KII respondents from MoES have also agreed that TVET is suffering from a lack of qualified professionals, poor organization, and coordination at all levels, and a shortage of budget for the sub-sector. To standardize all qualifications and credentials of TVET, as the FGD respondents suggested, outcome-based revision of curricula should be made; qualified occupations or trades should be specified; TVET teachers and leaders need to be trained, and plans need to be transformed into binding norms.
3.1.1.5. Higher education in Somaliland
Higher education is provided in the Universities of Somaliland which takes four to six years depending on the degree program being studied (MoEHS, 2017a). Higher education is considered the path to academic excellence and strengthens quality programs that promote research, knowledge transfer, and lifelong learning, and produce individuals who are competitive and innovative with high moral values to meet the nation’s aspirations (MoEHS, 2017a). To this end, emphasis was also given to this sector by the ESSP 2012–16, and ESSP 2017–2021(MoEHS, 2017a; MoES, 2018). As a result, higher education visions and missions were stated. The Vision was to develop Somaliland’s higher education institutions as centers of academic excellence that meet the development needs of the country (MoEHE , 2012).
Regarding higher education, the University of Hargeisa (UoH) and Amoud University (AU) are the largest higher education institutions that are regarded as national institutions. AU was first founded in 1998, whereas UOH was founded in 2000. All the Universities in Somaliland were inaugurated shortly after the civil war of the late 1980s and early 1990s. From the core of established universities ranging back to the 1990s such as Amoud, Hargeisa, Gollis, and Burao Universities, impressive growth has emerged to 35 recognized universities in the country. Later on, the rapid expansion of public higher education institutions in Somaliland and the growth of private universities in the country have necessitated the creation of the Somaliland commission for higher education [CHE] in August 2011 for monitoring, evaluating, and accreditation purposes of HEIs (MoEHE, 2012).
But, the practice of the higher education commission and universities in producing quality graduates was not effective. Consistent with this, the 2018 program evaluation result revealed that data on university education in Somaliland were limited due to the lack of regulation of institutions and insufficient Ministry involvement. Besides, shortage of finance, shortage of qualified academic staff, and insufficient infrastructure (laboratories, ICT, libraries, learning, and teaching materials) were major challenges (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2019). As Higher Education was practically the least prioritized in Somaliland (MoES, 2018), the above-mentioned challenges were also persisting in the current ESSP 2017–2021 periods and seriously affecting the quality of higher education (MoES, 2019). Similarly, as one of the responses of MoES KII showed “ … the shortage of finance, shortage of qualified academic staff, and insufficient infrastructure are the major bottlenecks of the universities of Somaliland” (KIIa).
Consistent with the above findings, the related challenges of the education sector strategic plans at all levels of the education system of Somaliland are summarized in Table below.
Table 1. Summaries of Education Sector Strategic Plans (ESSPs)’ focus areas and identified challenges
3.2. Major challenges in the education system of Somaliland
In Somaliland, despite the fact that great strides were made to improve the education system of the country at all levels; however, it did not accompany effectively what was stated in its educational policies and strategic plans regarding access, relevance, equity, and quality of education. As the document reviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion results indicated, the country’s education system was affected by a number of interconnected challenges. These challenges are categorized as policy-related, teacher, and school leaders-related, curriculum-related, and resource-related challenges.
3.2.1. Policy implementation challenges
The country has education policies and education strategic plans, however, its implementation of the designed policies and strategies was a challenge due to not enhancing the institutional capacity of the MoES, the lack of teacher training programs, failure to revise and upgrade the curriculum as per the contexts of the country, not building more schools and boarding schools in rural areas for disadvantaged communities, and not expanding women’s education were some of the basic policy concerns that affected the access, equity, and quality of education in Somaliland (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018, 2019).
The document review also showed that the lack of detailed and reliable data on school-age students at all levels, absence of unified and effective quality assurance systems, shortage of qualified and trained teachers and education experts mainly in non-formal education (NFE), TVET and Higher Education (HE), shortage of relevant quality teaching and learning materials and ineffective regulations of MoES on teacher recruitment, allocation, and transfer were other policy-related challenges (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018). For instance, due to a lack of effective regulations, over 50% of primary teachers’ qualifications were undefined, and paying teachers’ salaries was not dependent on qualification (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018).
Similarly, poor quality curriculum development process, low-quality assurance mechanism, lack of unified language policies at the national level (the fact that government and private schools use different languages), less emphasis on ECE across the regions and major districts (i.e., no participation in ECE programs in Buhodle, Odwayne, Hawd, Salal, Saraar, and Sanaag), lack of secondary schools mainly in rural areas, poor quality primary education delivery by private schools are also additional policy-related problems of Somaliland (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017b; MoES, 2018, 2019). The interview replies of one of the higher officials of MoES also disclosed that “the quality of primary, secondary, and tertiary education was below the country’s expectation and plans”(KIIa). According to the respondent, this low achievement was due to “poor management system, lack of trained teachers at all levels, mismatch of outcome based-curriculum, teacher-centered teaching methodology, inadequate school resources, poor parental support to education, and low education financing” (KIIa).
The results also disclosed that TVET programs are underfunded, fragmented, and donor-driven, with no clear guidelines, weak structure, and organization, and weak national qualifications framework of execution and management capacity (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). Besides, lack of reliable data on TVET centers, limited access to quality and advanced skills training programs and trainers, poor assessment, certification, and quality assurance mechanisms, absence of institutionalized coordination between the training system and the employers, and inadequately equipped trainers and training facilities were policy-related challenges (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). Moreover, as the document reveals, higher education institutions were also underfunded, lack of qualified professionals and quality curricula with no effective quality assurance mechanisms.
3.2.2. Teacher and leadership related factors
Teachers are the single most important factor affecting the quality of education (Tadesse, 2018; UNESCO, 2014). The quality of the teacher is recognized as the key and the success or failure of the entire education system and the national development at large is determined by the quality of teachers (Tadesse, 2020). Thus, teacher preparation and training is the critical issue to assure quality education. However, the quality of teachers at all levels was a big problem in Somaliland. There were no clear recruitment, deployment, and transfer criteria for teachers. There is a great shortage of adequately trained or qualified teachers (about 50% are unqualified) and many of them were unmotivated due to low pay, low recognition, no refresher courses, no pension scheme, and no promotion (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a; MoES, 2018). As the MoES data also revealed, in 2018/19, 20% of primary teachers remained unpaid, and ineffectiveness of school leadership and institutional capacities were the major teacher and leadership-related challenges for the poor execution of education at all levels (MoES, 2019). On top of this, school leaders are not also well qualified and well trained to lead their schools properly. In this regard, the KII participant from MoES also addressed that,
“The cornerstones for quality education are teachers who are the actual implementers of the curriculum. Hence, as the majority of them (mainly in public schools) are under-qualified, they have to be trained to implement the curriculum effectively and to maintain quality of education… Equally, to maintain the quality of schools, the interest, motivation and quality of school leaders is also a big problem”(KIIb).
3.2.3. Curriculum related factors
Despite the fact that the 2015 Somaliland education policy philosophy was focused on mounting the national unity and overall development of Somaliland (education to be based on Islamic values and principles) (MoEHS, 2015), and based on the hallmarks of the new national education policy, ESSP (2012–2016) and ESSP (2017–2021) were designed (MoEHE, 2012; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a), the lack of a unified and standardized curriculum at the national level (since some primary and secondary schools follow the American system, the Kenyan or British system, or the Turkish system of curricula) was challenging to attain the expected national goal in Somaliland education. The absence of well-organized national syllabi for all subjects that guide the education of the country may be troublesome to future policymaking (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). Moreover, the lack of an indigenous unified and standardized curriculum and inadequate teaching and learning materials affected the education quality (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). Consistent with this, the KII results of the different officers and experts of the ministry of Education and Science (MoES) also revealed that the curriculum design and development process of Somaliland is an earnest challenge for the quality of education of Somaliland. For instance, one of the experts in MoES also responded that “unlike many other countries, our curriculum is not competency-based with no clear frameworks” (KIId). Another officer also argued that,
“The curriculum of Somaliland needs to be reviewed, contextualized, and competence-based. … Standardized national curriculum framework needs to be developed that helps to explore indigenous knowledge. Besides, the contents of the curriculum at different grade levels need to include some important areas such as agriculture, fishing, and mineral resources” (KIIb).
Likewise, another official of MoES, also revealed that “ … the quality of Somaliland curriculum for primary and secondary levels was low and poorly written without attaining the curriculum development standards, which of course this needs further revision and improvement.”(KIIc).
3.2.4. Resource related factors
Resource shortage is one of the bottlenecks of realizing the quality of education in Somaliland. Low funding to support education at all levels (due to the introduction of free primary education is one reason), shortage of human resources, low school physical infrastructure and facilities, a large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and pastoralist groups (up to 60%), lack of official and reliable human resource data in EMIS, lack of detailed population and school-age population data, and scarce resources in public schools after the introduction of free primary education, cash grants to schools not institutionalized were major challenges (Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a). On top of these, the shortage of finance for the TVET and Higher Education sub-sectors was the most critical factor that restricts the future development of the sectors. For instance, all public universities of Somaliland were stressed with very limited funding, insufficient infrastructure (laboratories, ICT, libraries), and insufficient learning and teaching materials (MoES, 2019). Besides, relying on foreign teachers/lecturers from private schools and some higher education institutions are also another resource-related challenge in Somaliland. Rather than producing qualified professionals within the country, hiring professionals from abroad is resource-intensive. Moreover, in a country with scarce resources, paying the highest and unbalanced salary to foreign scholars in private institutions, compared to the local professionals, is also one of the sources of indigenous scholars’ job dissatisfaction.
Moreover, the different key informant interviewees from MoES also elucidated that “less input in terms of low education financing, shortage of school facilities and laboratories, lack of trained or qualified teachers, lack of standardized and unified national teachers’ guide for all levels of education; lack of technology integrated education and the poor leadership of public schools” as major resource-related factors that affect the education system of Somaliland.
4. Conclusions and implications
4.1. Conclusions
The development of education in Somaliland went through several stages, from pre-colonial traditional education through to colonial and post-colonial Western education. In the post-colonial periods, different education policies and education strategic plans were designed and major educational policy changes and reforms were made. Although the quality of any education system requires the development of effective education policies, strategies, and education sector plans, its practical implementation is a serious challenge due to various factors. To that end, the education policies and education sector plans of Somaliland that were drafted at different times were not successfully implemented. Besides, until recently, there are no unified national curriculum standards and national language policies. The poor education policies and sector education plans’ enactment were attributed to: a lack of qualified professionals at all levels, deployment of unqualified, under qualified, and poor quality teachers and school leaders, low budget, poor infrastructure, minimal resources, and teaching and learning materials, and lack of conducive working environments (Ministry of education and higher Education (MoEHE) , 2012; Ministry of Education & Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2015; Ministry of Education and Higher Studies (MoEHS), 2017a&b; Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), 2018, 2019).
On the other hand, despite the education policies focused to enhance access, equity, quality, and relevance of education and as a result, progress is observed in terms of access to education every year, still, student enrolment (GER and NER) at all levels and across regions of Somaliland remains very low and dropout rates are very high. In addition, the equity and quality of education in Somaliland was a solemn problem at all levels due to low funding, scarce human resources, lack of adequately trained education professionals, lack of quality curriculum materials, and absence of unified and effective quality assurance systems. Moreover, addressing equity in education across regions, in remote rural and pastoralist areas, and the disadvantaged students (pastoralists, females, students with special needs, and rural inhabitants) is still a problem.
The study also concluded that the quality of teachers and school leaders at all levels is a big problem in Somaliland. Poor teacher and school leaders’ preparation and training, unclear recruitment and employment criteria for teachers and school principals, the deployment of unqualified and unmotivated teachers and school leaders, and high turnover of qualified teachers and school leaders from government to private schools severely affects the quality of education in the country.
Regarding curricula and language-related issues and their implementation, the primary, secondary, and higher education curricula of Somaliland lacked uniformity and standardization. Besides, there is a wider gap in program delivery between private and government higher institutions in terms of time delivery, in which private institutions shorten the duration of program delivery. On top of this, the lack of unified national language policy in Somaliland in public and private institutions affected the delivery of the curriculum.
Moreover, in the education sector of Somaliland, while the key building blocks of the data system required for planning and decision-making are in place, the timeliness and reliability of data remain a challenge at all education policy practice periods. Besides the inconsistencies of data, the annual EMIS reports are often delayed in publication for more than a year and have some inconsistencies in the data.
4.2. Implications
In order to develop a unified standard national curriculum and unified language policies under the guidance and close supervision of the MoES and relevant consultants: (1) the education policy documents, frameworks, and guidelines should be improved, and effective management should be developed for its execution; (2) the unified and standard national curricula should be developed; (3) unified national language policies should be developed and executed effectively in both public and private institutes of the country; (4) quality assurance systems should be developed and implemented at all levels effectively; and (5) the various overdue and pending ECE, NFE, TVET and HEI reforms and proclamations should be pushed forward, and the earliest frameworks should be updated and implemented commendably.
In order to increase enrolment and deliver equity and quality education in Somaliland: (1) strong support, follow-up and evaluation systems should be in place from the Ministry up to schools of Somaliland; (2) Emphasis should also be given by all actors of the education sector to tackle those identified challenges that affect students’ enrolment, equity and the execution of quality education; (3) by and large, the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) should upsurge the annual education fund; teacher training/qualification system at all levels should be improved, and strong quality assurance mechanisms should be in place. Further, to address equity in education across regions, in remote rural and pastoralist areas and the disadvantaged students, the MoES, in synergy with development partners and the community, should: (1) prioritize investments to construct schools and fulfil resources to address vulnerable groups such as females, learners with special needs, nomadic and pastoralist communities, and remote rural children; (2) devise a strategy to attract more girls to schools and cater for students with special needs in terms of skilled delivery such as the provision of braille-based learning materials, sign language facilities and a special more inclusive approach to the curriculum; and (3) expand ECE, primary and secondary schools across regions or some districts which they did not have (little) participation.
To improve the quality of teachers and school leaders at all levels, starting from teachers and school leaders’ recruitment, training, and deployment, MoES, in collaboration with other stakeholders, should: (1) expand teacher training programs in all regions with well-equipped resources so as to increase teachers and school leaders’ qualification levels; (2) devise various incentive mechanisms such as “hardship allowance” for teachers and school leaders working in hardship areas and employ alternative certification strategies to recruit the right teachers and school leaders, in highly needed areas so as to avoid forced relocation; (3) strengthen the subject matter and pedagogy training of teachers from ECE to HEI; (4) equip and furnish the TVET, college and university faculties and set professional development programs and quality assurance systems to maintain quality; (5) strengthen robust international and institutional links for capacity-building programs and staff exchanges; and (6) improve the leadership capacity or administration of school leaders, educational experts, and professionals at ministry, regional and institutional levels.
In order to deliver equitable quality education to all citizens, unifying and standardizing the primary, secondary, and tertiary (university) curricula and their durations for public and private schools should be a timely concern. Likewise, the quality of curriculum materials such as curriculum frameworks, syllabuses, and teaching-learning materials (textbooks) should be improved and transformed into competency-based and distributed to schools sufficiently. There should also be a need for wide-ranging revision of TVET curricula towards outcome-based/results-based with defined levels of skills and knowledge competencies.
Finally, for planning and decision-making purposes, as well as for quality assurance and regulation purposes, an up-to-date and reliable education data system (the EMIS system) of the school-age students, teachers, and school leaders, and supported staff of both the public and private institutions at all levels of the education system of Somaliland needs to be available.
5. Limitations of the study
The fact that this study employed qualitative research and the lack of wider surveys across the nation from broader participants (teachers, principals, the community, etc.) about the education policy implementation practice and policy execution challenges may have an impact on the generalizability of the findings. Besides, the lack of research literature in Somaliland on education in general and on education policy-related issues in particular can also affect the results and discussion.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on Contributors
Tadesse Melesse
Tadesse Melesse is an Associate Professor in Education (Curriculum & Instruction) at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He worked as an instructor and leader at different universities and colleges for the last two decades. He published many articles related to differentiated instruction, professional development, school improvement and school climate, curriculum studies, education policy and teacher education. He also wants to proceed doing research and projects on these major areas.
Fuad A. Obsiye
Fuad A. Obsiye completed his BSc from the University of Hargeisa and his Master of Art in Educational Management from Kampala University. He served as a lecturer, researcher, and director of academic programs at the University of Hargeisa. Now, he is a PhD candidate in Educational Policy & Leadership at Bahir Dar University and also director of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Hargiesa.
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