School Enrollment and Attendance in Central South Somalia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SGOXXX10.1177/2 464060158244012464060SAGE OpenMoyi 2012 SAGE Open October-December 2012 1 –9 School Enrollment and Attendance in © The Author(s) 2012 DOI: 10.1177/2158244012464060 Central South Somalia http://sgo.sagepub.com Peter Moyi1 Abstract A civil war has raged in Somalia for the past 20 years. The civil war fragmented the country into three zones: the Central South region, Somaliland, and Puntland. Puntland and Somaliland are relatively stable; however, Central South Somalia remains unstable. How has the ongoing civil war affected educational access in the Central South region of Somalia? This article examines 3,100 households, presents the extent of the education access in this increasingly unstable region of Somalia, and identifies the major challenges of expanding education access. Keywords sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia, enrollment and attendance patterns, conflict Introduction Somaliland and Puntland have been able to establish functioning democracies and have also made gains in educa- The push for universal primary education by 2015 has sig- tional access (UNESCO, 2011). However, the Central South nificantly increased educational enrollment in poor coun- region remains unstable; it “has been devastated by clan tries. However, the progress has been slow and uneven rivalries, disputes over government and foreign invasions” because significant obstacles still exist (Cohen, Bloom, & (UNESCO, 2011 p. 243). The instability in Central South Malin, 2006; Lewin, 2009; United Nations Educational, Somalia is undermining economic and social development. Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2010, Therefore, using the 2006 Somali Multiple Indicator 2011). Research shows that the most marginalized children Cluster Survey (MICS) data, this article seeks to examine the are those facing poverty, geographic isolation, violent con- current state of education, extend our knowledge of the pat- flict, HIV/AIDS, corruption, and discrimination (Caillods, terns of educational access in Central South Somalia, and Phillips, Poisson, & Talbot, 2006; UNESCO, 2010). One identify the major challenges of expanding education access barrier that has not received adequate attention is conflict. in this region of Somalia. Conflict-affected countries are some of the farthest away from achieving universal education (UNESCO, 2010, 2011). UNESCO (2011) reported that 18% of the children of pri- Education in Central South Somalia mary school age are found in conflict countries, yet these There are significant challenges facing schooling in Central countries account for 48% of out-of-school children. South Somalia. Despite the existence of the TFG of Somalia, Reaching children in conflict countries is now a major chal- Central South Somalia continues to experience violent con- lenge facing the international community. flict. Furthermore, unlike the other regions, it does not have Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest number of a functioning ministry of education. violent conflicts in the world (UNESCO, 2011). One of the As a result of the conflict, parents are concerned for the region’s longest conflicts is the civil war in Somalia. safety of the children on the way to school and in school. Somalia has been at war since 1991. The civil war frag- Teachers are also concerned for their own safety because mented the country into three zones: the Central South schools have been frequently targeted for attack—Students region under the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and teachers have been killed. UNESCO (2011) reported that Somaliland in the northwest, and Puntland in the northeast. “Transitional Federal Government and the Al-Shabaab Somalia has received little research and policy attention (Abdi, 1998; Moyi, 2010). The little we know about educa- 1University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA tion in Somalia is not encouraging. UNESCO (2005) Corresponding Author: reported that, “Somalia has the dismal distinction of having Peter Moyi, Department of Educational Leadership and Policies, University the world’s highest proportion of primary school-age chil- of South Carolina, 305 Wardlaw College, Columbia SC 29208, USA dren not in school” (p. 24). Email: [email protected] Downloaded from by guest on June 4, 2016 2 SAGE Open militia have been cited by the Secretary-General for violence The questionnaires collected information on the house- directed at schools” (p. 158). Parents also keep their chil- hold, the parent or guardian, and the eligible children (6–18 dren, especially the girls, at home to protect them from years). The questionnaires were used to provide current abduction; most of the abductions take place in school information on education among school-age children, with a (Bekalo, Brophy, & Welford, 2003). Boys are used as com- focus on factors influencing household decisions about batants, and girls are used to cook and clean (O’Malley, schooling. 2010). Most trained teachers fled the civil war in Somalia; female teachers are especially scarce. The gender balance among Descriptive Statistics teachers affects whether or not girls attend school (Bekalo To better understand Central South Somalia, it is important et al., 2003; Colclough, Al-Samarrai, Rose, & Tembon, to briefly compare it with the other relatively stable regions 2003; Kirk 2003). This gender balance among teachers is of Somaliland and Puntland. Somaliland was described as especially important in a conservative Islamic country, like the “quiet success story” because it lowered child mortality Somalia. Furthermore, a 1997 survey found that 30% of rates and made sustained gains in primary education schools had no toilets, and about 90% had no running water (UNESCO, 2011). Table 1 presents household characteris- in the school compound (Bekalo et al., 2003). The limited tics by region, rural/urban residence, wealth quintiles, number of female teachers combined with the limited sanita- mother’s education, and father’s education. About 63% of tion in schools is a significant barrier to schooling for girls. the children in Central South resided in rural areas compared A unique feature of schooling in Somalia is the Koranic with about 55% in Somaliland and 67% in Puntland. About school. Koranic schools are owned and operated by the 20% of Central South residents were rural nomads compared community. They play a significant role in education espe- with about 4% in Somaliland and 15% in Puntland. The cially early childhood education (Cassanelli & Abdikadir, Central South Somalia had the largest proportion of rural 2007). They are nonformal schools1 that seek to spread nomads in Somalia. The challenges created by the frequent Islamic principles and lifestyle; however, they also teach movement in remote areas combined with the problem of arithmetic, Somali language, and Arabic (Bekalo et al., violent conflict are likely to create significant barriers to 2003; Cassanelli & Abdikadir, 2007; Morah, 2000). Despite schooling. their value in the community, Koranic schools face signifi- Table 1 also shows the socioeconomic status as measured cant challenges. Most schools lack basic facilities like by parents’ education and wealth. About 47% of the children desks, chairs, and latrines. Researchers have highlighted the in Central South were in the poorest 40% compared with quality issues facing Koranic schools (Bekalo et al., 2003; about 30% in Somaliland and 28% in Puntland. The house- Cassanelli & Abdikadir, 2007; Morah, 2000). holds in the Central South zone were poorer than those in the other regions. About 66% of the mothers in Central South reported they Data had no education compared with about 71% in Somaliland To examine the school enrollment patterns, this study uses and 61% in Puntland. About 30% of fathers in Central South the Somalia 2006 MICS. The Somalia 2006 MICS was reported no education, compared with about 49% in implemented by UNICEF Somalia in collaboration with the Somaliland and 43% in Puntland. Less than 5% of the moth- Pan-Arab Project for Family Health (PAPFAM) project of ers reported they had at least a secondary education in all the League of Arab States. The Somalia MICS 2006 is the three regions. About 43% of fathers in Central South reported third MICS survey. The first MICS, which covered only they had Koranic education compared with 9% in Somaliland Somaliland, was conducted in 1995, and the second MICS and 28% in Puntland. It is also important to note that mothers in 1999. The surveys aim to assess the situation of children and fathers in the Central South region had the lowest levels and women in Somalia. of primary and secondary education in Somalia. So, while it The Somalia 2006 MICS was a nationally representative is important to highlight the gap between regions, we cannot sample survey that covered 5,969 households. This study ignore the overall low levels of educational attainment uses only data from the Central South region. The sample among parents in the three regions. from this zone had about 6,226 children in 3,100 households. Children in the Central South region face conflict, pov- The sample was selected in four stages. First, a predeter- erty, inequality, and very low levels of parental education, mined number of clusters were selected in each zone— especially mothers’ education; these are formidable obsta- Somaliland (60 clusters), Puntland (60 clusters), and Central cles to schooling. Furthermore, due to their livelihood, South Somalia (130 clusters). Second, districts were selected nomads face extreme educational disadvantage. in each zone