Several Somaliland Schools close down due to Negligence

On several occasions, the Somaliland government has said it is putting more effort into expanding and standardizing the education system of the country. The President also said in his Monday’s state of the nation address that his administration has established more public schools across the country.

However the unprecedented closure of a number of public schools has disfigured the effectiveness of these claims by the government.

In Diinqal town, 25 Km east of the country’s capital Hargeisa, all schools were closed down. Residents told the media that the school is no longer operating due to lack of teachers. They said the school now has only one teacher who keeps the school closed whenever he wants.

“Every teacher they bring here, leaves the job immediately without taking much time with the students” said a resident

Residents noted they face many challenges as a result of the closed educational institutions. They are now sending their children to distance learning institutions. They demanded President Bihi’s administration to consider reopening these learning institutions.

“ We send our children to distance learning institutions as long as our schools are not operating. We send them far, we don’t have any other option” she added.

The only Madirissa in the region also collapsed and has been destroyed for one and a half years now. Parents say the children now stay at home without learning the Quran and islamic studies.

“My Message is that we need schools to educate our children. They don’t have it here and the only school in this area was destroyed and has no roofs. The government should consider reopening these schools.” said a parent.

The problem is not only limited to this region since many other parts of the country share the same challenges. A report released by the ministry of education revealed that 43% of the country’s suburbs do not have public schools. The report underlined that 50% of Maroodijeeh’s suburbs do not have public schools.