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TERMS OF REFERENCE
Background
Although several gains have
been achieved within the education sector in recent
years, human development indicators relating to
education in Somalia rank among the lowest in the
world. Somalia’s education sector is diverse,
ranging from programs that address issues of early
childhood learning to adult literacy. Focus has
been on primary education through formal and
alternative approaches, secondary schooling and
vocational training for young persons. |
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Recent advances within the
sector include: the development of lower primary and
secondary school curricula, modest increases in
enrollment and promotion rates, community
involvement in the establishment of schools in rural
areas, large scale in-service teacher training
programmes, growing numbers of primary and secondary
schools operating, establishment of tertiary
institutions, significant contributions by the
diaspora and an improved capacity of education
authorities at central and regional level in some
areas of Somalia.
Early Childhood
Whilst the Somali society has many positive
traditional childcare practices that can provide a
good entry point for early childhood stimulation,
nurturing and learning, these have not been
systematically studied nor harnessed to develop an
early learning program that is appropriate and
sustainable.
Primary Education
Primary formal education, on the other hand, has
received considerable parental, community, local,
and international support, as evidenced by the
substantial increase in both the number of
operational schools and in enrolment over the past
few years. In addition, significant improvements in
the development and implementation of standardised
and quality education content and processes,
particularly at the lower primary levels, have also
been achieved. These are now being extended to the
upper primary level and it is anticipated that the
process will be complete by 2005 for primary
education as a whole.
Despite
these successes, considerable disparities in quality
and access continue to prevail. Gender related
disparities remain an area of major concern, as only
slightly more than one third of pupils are girls at
primary levels. Since 2000, there has been no
improvement in terms of reducing gender disparity,
which increases rapidly with higher grades of
primary education.
Alternative
channels of education are therefore being explored
in order to accommodate the varying needs of girls,
street children, children in IDP camps, nomads and
out of school youth who may not be able to access
the formal system because of physical, financial or
time constraints. A non-formal education package for
14-18 year olds has been developed and is being
implemented through youth groups and INGOs, and a
similar package for younger children, based on the
primary school curriculum, will be developed.
Secondary Education
There has been rapid expansion of secondary
schooling in the English medium in Somaliland and
Puntland since 1999. This expansion is reflected
both in an increase in the number of functional
secondary schools and in enrolment rates. Progress
made in this time in the areas of curriculum,
assessment, and certification will be further
consolidated through reaching out to private
secondary schools operating on a variety of
curricula and media of instruction throughout the
country.
Tertiary Education
The last five years has seen a renaissance in
higher and further education, with the establishment
of tertiary institutions in Boroma, Hargeisa, Bosaso
and Mogadishu. This has been achieved mainly as a
result of joint initiatives by communities in
Somalia and in the diaspora, with only limited
support from the government and the donor
community. Most courses are four years in length
and the subjects offered include medicine,
agriculture, business administration, Sharia law and
financial management. As yet, there is little
coordination between the various institutions and
nationally recognized standards of accreditation
have still to be established. There is also an
ever-increasing number of private institutes,
particularly in urban centers offering short courses
in, especially, English language, computer skills,
and book-keeping.
Technical and Vocational
Education
The development of curriculum and syllabi in
some trade and skill areas has been achieved and
skills training is offered in a limited number of
vocational training centers. However, few youth,
particularly girls and militia, have access to
skills training that will enhance their lives and
livelihoods. This offers to educational policy
makers and planners a major challenge of developing
and effectively implementing a technical and
vocational education programme that will meet the
human resource development needs of Somalia.
Adult Literacy
Over 80% of Somali adults are illiterate and are
excluded from information and communication in
written form. The gains of the 1973-’74 literacy
campaign have, to a large extent, been lost. A
major task before the ESC is to facilitate the
spread of adult literacy in Somalia.
Mandate
The Education Sectoral Committee is formed under
the auspices of the Steering Committee. In the
absence of a central government, the overall aim
of the Education Sectoral Committee is to
contribute to the reconstruction and overall
development of the education sector in Somalia at
all levels and contribute to the realization of
every child's right to quality education.
Apart from its general
membership, ad hoc task forces and working groups
are formed by the ESC to address specific, time
bound issues requiring close coordination,
monitoring and follow up. Regular meetings are
scheduled once every two months with the option of
scheduling special topics in alternate months.
Meetings are split into an operational section and a
thematic section. Committee members are encouraged
to make suggestions to the development of the
agenda.
Specifically, the ESC will:
1.
Improve coordination and programming for the
education sector in Somalia. This includes regular
and timely exchange of information on all aspects of
program development and delivery by various
partners;
2.
Contribute to the development of policy
frameworks and strategic plans of action that will
provide the overall framework and guiding principles
for partners working towards the attainment of the
global goal of quality education for all;
3.
Establish standards and common approaches to
ensure development and implementation of effective
and complimentary approaches in the education sector
program delivery, furthering as much as possible
sustainable approaches to education provision;
4.
Provide guidance to the various task forces
and working groups established for specific time
bound actions to accelerate implementation of ESC
activities and the sector as a whole;
5.
Participate, through the Co-Chairs, in the
deliberations of the Steering Committee and act as
technical advisory group on education;
6.
Cover the following education sector program
components within it's scope of work:
·
Early Childhood Stimulation and
Learning;
·
Primary education through schools and
alternative channels;
·
Secondary education;
·
Tertiary education;
·
Non-formal education for out of school
youth;
·
Vocational education for youth; and
·
Adult education.
7.
Ensure close coordination with other SACB
sectoral committees and the SACB Secretariat to
promote multi and cross-sectoral linkages and
efficiency of operations. In the case of HIV/AIDS
this will be achieved through a nominated
representative to the working group;
8.
Develop specific strategies for involvement
of Somali authorities and partners in the education
sector development. This includes establishment and
strengthening of strong networks of field level
partnerships through the mechanism of zonal chapters
of ESC and inclusion of field level partners in
selected meetings of the ESC;
9.
Make recommendations through the SACB
Steering Committee to the SACB Executive Committee
on key issues of advocacy relating to Somalia’s
education sector; and
10.
Provide fora for information sharing that may
lead to improved capacity of ESC members and other
stakeholders associated with the ESC. |
