National education aims to educate citizens to develop competence, knowledge, and skills that enable them to become independent personalities with a sense of responsibility and nationality toward the community. Education raises the power to compete and motivate ourselves to be better in all aspects of life. Dynamic people are advanced people who constantly try to optimize their potential for a viable future life. National or provincial exit examinations certify and signal secondary school students’ achievements to universities and employers in several countries. The nature of these examinations has been a topic of contention in many countries because it is felt that they have a considerable impact on how teachers teach and how students learn. Changes in examination systems are usually invariably part of efforts to reform secondary education.
As in the case of Somalia, the ministry of education began to centralize the high school leaving certificate exams in the country, and the public immediately felt relief and encouragement for the bright young minds. The national exam gives equal chances to all students regardless of sex and hometown. Competent students who qualify and meet the required score receive government scholarships within the country and overseas to pursue the career development of their choice.
However, during the absence of the functioning state institutions, organized individuals established schools offering education services to children across the country. In order to strengthen their capacity in the absence of the government, school owners formed associations and umbrellas to conduct unified exams in their schools and agreed to award one certificate. The school associations grew more prominent as more schools were established across the country, giving chances for new enrollment.
In 2015, for the first time, in the post-conflict period, the Ministry of Education of the Federal Government of Somalia introduced a unified national exam and awarded national secondary school leaving certificates for students who meet the minimum requirement. However, the umbrella of school associations, students, teachers and parents challenged the ministry education decision and its possibility although the government move was in effect.
Numerous issues contributed to the educational beneficiaries, such as students and parents, and school associations on the government’s capacity to conduct national exams with existing infrastructure. This includes: people believe in order the government to introduce national exams, there must be a nationally agreed curriculum that is taught equally in schools of the country and its absence motivated education beneficiaries in southern and Central Somalia to encounter government decision and the case of Somaliland which has its arrangements of implementing their national exams.
Challenges from the public
Parents and students were anxious about the negative impact of the policy. They doubted the initiative’s sustainability as the government lacked the budget to support the private education initiatives available and the absence of teachers in the government payroll. The parents’ main concern was transitioning from reliable private institutions they knew for a long time and acknowledging their contribution to the education sector. Although citizens know education services are among the government’s primary responsibilities, private education and beneficiaries were still reluctant to collaborate fully.
The umbrella of school associations reservations based on the management of the education sector operationalized in the absence of government for more than two decades. They raised the negative impact that the government directives will create if the matter is not handled correctly. On the other, the School Associations raised the motive of the government taking over the management private education system to manage the unaccounted financial resources collected from the students and its expenditure. Parents fear two significant issues: the safety of their children as the public view exchanged of the possibilities of death casualties of the students participate the newly introduced national exams and the other significant stress was the effectiveness of the sustainability the national exams every year.
The first year of the exam was surrounded by anxiety fever of all the stakeholders as few students participated in the examinations. All those who sit for the national exam introduced by the ministry of education also sit for exams administered by the school associations umbrella. Universities admitted both the certificates from the ministry of education of the federal government and certificates from the umbrella of school associations.
Critical of the national exam
National exam empowers and gives opportunities to students from low backgrounds access to university education from the government. Previously, families that could afford to pay the fees of their children admitted to universities and those from unprivileged backgrounds ended up roaming in the streets, opting for other means to survive.
On the other hand, the government restored the national university where students study for free, although the slots are restricted due to the limited resources available in the country. The university offers different fields of study, including medicine, legal courses, education, and IT. Students are admitted based on the availability of the requested course and passing the entry-level exam.
Today, children from low-income families who never thought of university-level education study their dream courses to enable a brighter future. Only education can cover the gap between communities and nations, and the more we invest in education, the more we can enjoy better living conditions and eradicate poverty.
As the exam is carried out in the country, expect Somaliland, top brains are awarded a government-funded scholarship, which motivates schooling students who cannot afford to pay fees of private universities to work harder to get good scores that qualify them to achieve their dreams in full. Most Somali children study under challenging circumstances as their parents raised school fees in a country with no formal employment to ensure that their children compete with other top brains of the world.
In net shell every year, government officials learn from the mistakes of yesteryears to improve service delivery. There are several issues that people wish to address.”
- Curriculum implementation – is the responsibility of the government to ensure all schools in the country use the newly introduced school curriculum for all levels and ensure that students studying in unprivileged circumstances have access to books and other resources available on
- Ensuring that all students sit for the exams taught in the curriculum is the government’s responsibility to ensure that all students receive required curriculum content during their studies.
- It is recommended that the government abolish school associations assessment and awarding certifications authority which is a burden on the parents and replaces with the national leaving certificate throughout the country. The School Associations collect fees for leaving students parallel to the government.
- The government is also required to strengthen education infrastructure and ensure that the future of Somali children is essential.
- Due to the existing bureaucracy, students are charged higher than they can afford for the national examination registration by the Ministry of Education and those of the Schools Associations Umbrellas.
To sum up, the national exam allows students from low economic backgrounds to realize their educational dreams and career development as long as they score high grades to qualify for scholarships. Previously, in Somalia, children accessed privately-owned universities. On the other hand, in some countries, national exams are formed national identity and tell the person schooled in the country and met the required grade to pursue studies and career development in that country. It is recommended that exams evaluate the child student’s awareness of the surrounding issues that prepare them for the labour world. The results of the national exams inform policymakers about the condition and the quality of our education system, gaps, and address areas that need specific attention.
Mohamed Hassan Ali, Researcher
Photo Credit: @somalilandcurrent
