MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Ministry of Education says it is close to completing a long-promised plan to recruit 10,000 teachers nationwide, a push officials say will strengthen the curriculum, expand access to schooling in underserved areas and widen training for both new and current educators.
Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulqadir announced the update Sunday, framing the initiative as the backbone of wider reforms to raise quality and bring consistency to the country’s fragmented school system.
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“We are finalizing the 10,000-teacher plan, and at the same time we are providing training for all teachers currently in service,” Abdulqadir said. “Our focus is on strengthening the curriculum and rebuilding schools.”
The statement follows PresidentHassan Sheikh Mohamud’s call on Nov. 22, during Somali Teachers’ Day celebrations, for the ministry to accelerate registration of the remaining educators covered by the program. The ministry said it is moving in step with that directive as it formalizes hiring and rolls out training designed to standardize classroom practice across public schools.
Officials describe the recruitment drive as a pillar of recent reforms aimed at aligning education with national priorities and ensuring Somali children receive a more inclusive education. The effort comes as parents and students contend with uneven access, teacher shortages and infrastructure needs that vary widely by region.
The federal government has also said the plan will prioritize areas recently liberated from al-Shabab, part of a broader push to close long-standing education gaps and stabilize services in communities emerging from conflict. Directing new teachers and resources to these districts is intended to help restore schooling where it has been disrupted and to reduce disparities in enrollment and learning outcomes.
According to the ministry, the push centers on several immediate steps:
- Recruiting and onboarding 10,000 teachers to bolster staffing across public schools
- Providing comprehensive training for newly hired and in-service teachers
- Strengthening the national curriculum for greater consistency and rigor
- Rebuilding and rehabilitating schools to improve learning environments
- Expanding access in underserved and newly stabilized areas
While the ministry said implementation is nearing completion, it did not provide a specific date for when all 10,000 hires will be in place or a breakdown by region. Officials indicated further guidance would accompany the full rollout of training schedules and school-level deployments.
Education remains central to the government’s state-building agenda, and the teacher recruitment plan is viewed by policymakers as a foundation for more predictable services. By closing staffing gaps and reinforcing teacher training, officials say they aim to improve instruction quality in core subjects and create clearer pathways for students as they move through primary and secondary grades.
The ministry urged educators to remain engaged with ongoing registration and training updates and said it would announce additional details as the program phases are finalized. For families and schools in newly stabilized districts, the timeline for teacher deployments will be closely watched as communities look to consolidate gains and keep children in classrooms.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
