January 2021 Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures: Somalia/Somaliland Background Paper Somalia/Somaliland Background Paper Acronyms Contents ABE Alternative Basic Education Introduction....................................................................................................................... 3 Sustainable Development ......................................................................................... 3 ECE Early Childhood Education Education for (Un)Sustainable Development ................................................ 5 EIE Education in Emergencies TVET Case Study ........................................................................................................ 7 SDG 4 – Quality Education ....................................................................................... 8 ESD Education for Sustainable Development Education and SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth ........... 13 ESSP Education Sector Strategic Plan Education and SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities ......... 14 Education and SDG 13 - Climate Action ........................................................ 14 FGS Federal Government of Somalia Conclusion: Transforming Education to support Sustainable GDP Gross Domestic Product Development .................................................................................................................. 16 References ........................................................................................................................ 17 GER Gross Enrolment Rate GPI Gender Parity Index GSL Government of Somaliland HIPS Heritage Institute for Policy Studies ICT Information and Communications Technology IDPs Internally Displaced People NAPA National Adaption Programme of Action to Climate Change NDP National Development Plan NFE Non-Formal Education SD Sustainable Development SDGs Sustainable Development Goals TESF Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures TVET Technical and Vocational Education Training UN United Nations UNSOM United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia VSLA Village Savings and Loans Associations TESF A TESF Background Paper – January 2021 2 Somalia/Somaliland Background Paper Introduction consider sustainable development in the Somalia/Somaliland context, exploring the existing literature and evidence as well as the current findings, challenges, and gaps and using Technical and Vocational This country background paper examines the issues of sustainable Education Training (TVET) as a case study for more in-depth analysis. development and education with regards to the current situation in Second it will explore education for sustainable development, how it Somalia/Somaliland.1 It expands on the TESF Somalia/Somaliland is understood in the Somalia/Somaliland context, before examining Briefing Note, which sets out the need for education systems in the remaining challenges and gaps. The paper will then present four Somalia and Somaliland to be transformed and provides valuable sections on the relevant SDGs beginning with SDG 4, quality context to aid understanding, analysis of and action on education education, before moving onto SDG 8 on decent work and economic and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This growth, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, and SDG 13 need is urgent, for as a participant in one of Transparency Solutions’ on climate action. Each of the four sections will examine the SDG with (2020b) TESF engagement events stated, the education systems in regards to the progress being made in Somalia and Somaliland, the Somalia and Somaliland “are not even delivering the fundamentals.” connections and synchronicities with education sectors, the However, there is reason for optimism about the future as there are governments’ priorities and actions, and the challenges and numerous stakeholders including governments, donors, and opportunities for progress on the SDGs. In conclusion, the paper will education professionals who are invested in improving education in reflect on the transformational potential of education systems in Somalia. As one education professional stated, “Through our Somalia and Somaliland to support sustainable development and commitment, we can make and develop quality education in proposing recommendations for how that transformation could be Somalia” (quoted in Transparency Solutions, 2020c). Of course, there brought about. It will also propose future research opportunities for are major challenges to be overcome such as limited resources and the TESF project to further understanding and knowledge on these political and social conflicts. critical topics. As stated in the Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures (TESF) Foundations paper, “a key goal of TESF is to develop impactful research that can assist in transforming education systems so that they can contribute to SD [sustainable development]” (Tikly et al., 2020a, p. 22). This paper gives an overview of existing literature, policy, and activities to provide the foundation for future research, analysis, and action, and in particular to help inform the invited call for proposals related to this TESF project; to lay the basis for a Country Synthesis Paper at the end of the project; to feed into comparisons with the other TESF hub countries; and to shape the overall thematic analysis. The insights and analysis in this paper have been informed by the expert local knowledge provided by the participants at three TESF engagement events held in Somalia/Somaliland by Transparency Solutions in August 2020, laying the foundations for a collaborative learning journey. As stated in the Collaboration and Capacity Development for TESF Briefing Note, collaborative structures and Sustainable Development processes, spanning traditional boundaries are integral to the work of TESF (Mitchell et al., 2020, p.1). Contributions from participants Sustainable development in Somalia/Somaliland has been a central centred on the need to know how education systems can be concern amongst their respective governments, donors, and transformed so that education can drive sustainable development in international organisations over the last number of years. In contrast, ways which are supportive of or complementary to national and local the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Government of government plans and priorities for education and for sustainable Somaliland (GSL) both subscribe to the SDGs, which feature development; and in ways which strengthen inclusion and reduce prominently in official policy documents such as the National inequalities. Development Plans of both (e.g. Federal Government of Somalia, 2019b; Republic of Somaliland, 2017). However, the academic This paper will be structured into sections with political economy and literature on the topic is limited, and even the non-academic post-conflict peacebuilding themes woven throughout. First, it will literature tends to be limited in scope and is often specific to a certain donor project. Across the existing literature, various 1 In 1991 Somaliland unilaterally declared its independence from Somalia. definitions of sustainable development are used, when the term is Somaliland has been self-governing ever since but has not been even defined at all; this paper, uses the TESF project’s working recognised internationally as a sovereign state. This ambiguity of being definition, recognizing that no definition is definitive or all both in and in Somalia explains why TESF refers to Somalia when referring encompassing. Here, sustainable development is “development that to the federal level, to Somaliland when referring to Somaliland alone and supports the rights, freedoms and capabilities of existing and future Somalia/Somaliland when referring to both. generations to live the lives they have reason to value whilst A TESF Background Paper – January 2021 3 Somalia/Somaliland Background Paper protecting and co-evolving in a more harmonious relationship with reaffirmed their commitment to the SDGs as a government, but also the natural environment of which human beings are an integral part recognised that one issue stalling Somaliland’s progress is their so that natural and social systems may flourish” (Tikly et al., 2020a, p. continued lack of international recognition (Republic of Somaliland 13). Ministry of Planning and National Development, 2019). On Somalia’s country page on the UN’s online Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, the information available is scant compared with that available compared for the other TESF country hubs; there are no documents or reports available, the most recent statement is from 2015, and no focal point details are available (United Nations, 2020). This reflects a more general problem in Somalia of limited data due to lack of infrastructure. Nevertheless, there are some areas of progress. For example, Somaliland has a strategy of working towards specific SDGs (Somaliland SDG16+ Coalition, 2019). There remain ongoing challenges to sustainable development in Somalia/Somaliland. As Tikly et al. (2020b, p. 1) state, “people all over By almost all measures and markers, Somalia and Somaliland are the world today are subject to the pernicious effects of unsustainable lagging significantly behind on the SDGs. As Herring et al. (2020b) development. In the global South, this trajectory is often stated so succinctly, “Somalia/Somaliland is among the poorest accompanied by structural inequalities that reproduce persistent countries in the world” (Herring et al., 2020b,