Hargeisa, Wednesday 6 February 2019. Today, Somaliland opened its first Teacher Education College. The President of Somaliland, H.E. Muse Bihi Abdi, inaugurated the college in the presence of 400 primary and secondary school teachers who had enrolled to become certified teachers.
The initiative, to which the European Union (EU) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) contributed with US$ 1 million, aims to ensure the professional development of Somaliland’s teaching workforce. According to the Education Ministry, over 60 per cent of primary school teachers are currently not certified. Untrained teachers are mostly in remote areas, where disadvantaged children live, further deepening inequalities. In addition, only about 15 per cent of primary and 4 per cent of secondary teachers are women, an imbalance that the government is seeking to redress.
The European Union Chargé d’Affaires, Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, recognised the strong commitment of the Somaliland authorities towards raising the quality and status of the teaching profession, and congratulated the government for its efforts: “a great teacher has a positive influence on a child over its entire lifetime. Investing in teachers creates better opportunities for all children and increases equality in society. The new Teacher Education College will contribute to this”
“The establishment of the Teacher Education College is a key achievement. It will help the Ministry address the shortage and low quality of teachers, which is a barrier to improving the quality of education for our learners”, said the Minister of Education and Science, Isman Jama Adan.
It is expected that, with EU and GPE support over the next 3 years, 800 existing teachers will receive certification by attending the training over the school holidays. Over 229 high school graduates will train to become new teachers, of which 60 per cent will be female. Furthermore, a curriculum for the teacher training courses has been developed.
