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Somalia (Somaliland) by Mohamed Nur-Awaleh Introduction
Somalia’s population was 7.7 million in 1991. The former territory of British Somaliland declared itself independent in May 1991.The population of breakaway Somaliland is 2.5 million. But the republic has experienced enormous difficulty in securing recognition from the international community and therefore has created many challenges to achieving economic development in Somaliland.History
Higher education in Somalia began in 1954 when the Italian government established the Institutes of Law, Economics, and Social Studies. These institutes were satellites of the University of Rome, which provided all the instruction material, faculty, and administration. In 1964, the institutes offered two years of study in Somalia, followed by two years of study in Italy. After a military coup in 1969, all foreign entities were nationalized, including the university, which was renamed Jaamacada Ummadda Soomaliyeed (the National University of Somalia, or NUS).Higher education became available in Somalia through NUS and its six colleges. There were also seven specialized post-secondary schools, all of which were government-sponsored. Although various institutions offered instruction in Italian, English, and Arabic, the main language of instruction at NUS was Italian.
Governance and Administration
NUS was administered by the Ministry of Higher Education. The head of the state was chancellor of the university, even though his duties were mainly ceremonial. The rector was the chief executive officer of NUS, assisted by two vice-rectors who were responsible for academic affairs and administrative affairs, respectively. Both the rector and the vice-rectors were appointed by the National Ruling Party.NUS had two other main administrative bodies of the university: the university council and senate. The chair of the council is the Minister of Higher Education. The senate committee was chaired by the rector, and included two academic staff members.
Enrollment
A major devastating impact of the civil war in Somalia was the destruction of the Somali National University (SNU) and other institutions that offered post-secondary education. Before the collapse of the Somali state, SNU enrolled 15,672 students, had a staff and faculty of about 6,000, and consisted of 13 faculties.On September 22, 1997, Mogadishu University (MU) in Somalia became a recognized private university in the absence of a functioning government in Mogadishu. MU’s financial support comes from three sources: student tuition, a trust fund, and donations. Students are required to be fluent in English and Arabic as a criterion for admission. 318 students were enrolled at MU.
Higher Education in Somaliland consists chiefly of Amoud University (AU) and Hargeisa University (HU). There were only 12 faculty members for the academic year 1999-2000. A total of 103 students enrolled in the same year at AU.
Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Somalia and Somaliland please consult Mohamed Nur-Awaleh, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 536-543.
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