In the light of fresh international initiatives to achieve universal basic education and gender equality in education by 2015, what factors will affect success in Somaliland? In a country where over 80 percent of the school age population are receiving little meaningful education, research examines how more Flexible Approaches to Education (FAE) can benefit children and disadvantaged adults?

In Somaliland civil conflict interacting with a cycle of growing poverty has complicated and impacted upon the demand and provision of basic education. Problems remain despite a high demand for education and some progress in restoring the system since the end of the civil conflict in the early nineties. Even where schools are made available, a significant proportion of children and adults have chosen not to enter and others have dropped out, many only after a year or two.

Girls are reported to be dropping out earlier and more rapidly than boys. Factors accounting for this include:

• a lack of educational opportunities beyond primary school level, standard text books and other learning materials, and trained teachers, particularly female teachers
• costs of travel to school, text books, stationery, fees, and uniforms can outweigh the benefits of schooling, especially in a time of uncertain employment prospects. Such costs impact on girls more
• girls are needed for domestic work, particularly as their mothers spend more time taking part in income-generating activities.
• parents also feel that the benefits of educating their daughter will leave with her when she marries and this provide little return to them.
• parents are concerned for safety: once girls reach puberty the distance between home and school is crucial as parents fear that their daughter may be abducted or that they could get a bad reputation through meeting sexually-active males.

Formal schools are not flexible enough to meet the circumstances of most families. FAE offer more adaptable hours, curriculum and location, providing a variety of basic and vocational education to those who have no access to the formal system. It also benefits those who need to supplement education already received, or pursue objectives not catered for by formal schools. The informal centres in Somaliland have proved popular and have nearly an equal number of boys and girls. Other benefits of FAE include:

• reduced time and financial costs for families because of the closer location of facilities and provision of lessons at flexible times
• the involvement of local influential figures and parents in the programme inception and implementation, thus providing an opportunity to persuade community members of the importance of educating all children regardless of gender
• reduced cost to families, communities, and the government, because existing community facilities are used and local instructors are trained on the job.

However if FAE are to realise their full potential:

• they need greater national and international support, as under-trained teachers with little resources are unlikely to provide high quality instruction
• such support needs to be offered without compromising their diverse and flexible nature
• more information is needed on the effectiveness and quality of FAE provision and formal education in Somaliland, as well as what the true costs of different approaches are.

Source(s):
'The development of education in post-conflict ‘Somaliland’', International Journal of Education Development 23 (2003) 459-475 by S.A. Bekalo, M. Brophy, and A.G. Welford

Funded by: Department for International Development, UK

id21 Research Highlight: 16 November 2005

Further Information:
Geoff Welford
1 Westville Avenue
Ilkley
LS29 9AH
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1943 602839
Contact the contributor: a.g.welford@education.leeds.ac.uk

University of Leeds, UK

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