Nimo Warsame was among the first female teachers to graduate from the Somaliland National College of Education since its inception in 2017.

She finds that her understanding towards children has changed and has seen the change not only from her side, but also from the students’ side. They are more open to her, talk to her and are happy to meet her even after class.

“I give them my time to encourage and motivate them. Students like a teacher who motivates them, who doesn’t beat them but instead gives more advice, and as a result I can proudly say that my students like me more than before.”

She is one of many teachers who have received training thanks to a GPE-funded program by Save the Children and the Ministry of Education of Somaliland.

The program contributes to the implementation of the Somaliland Education Sector Strategic Plan (2017-2022) and is designed to address issues of access and equity, quality and learning outcomes, efficiency and effectiveness of the education system.

While the number of female teachers in Somaliland is relatively small compared to the number of male teachers, the number of girls attending school is increasing. Due to cultural constraints, girls feel freer to share their personal issues with female teachers as compared to their male counterparts.

Nimo chose to be a teacher from a very young age because she realized this gap in the society and this, she says, is her way of giving back.

Improving the quality of education in Somaliland

As part of efforts aimed at improving the quality of the Somaliland Education Sector, the program provided in-service training for 800 (280 female) primary education teachers.

During the training, teachers completed their professional diploma certificate program and successfully graduated. An additional 1,070 teachers are completing the in-service training. Thanks to the GPE-funded program, a total of 1,870 certified professional teachers are thus being deployed to the education system. The program is also providing pre-service training to 215 teachers.

Yousuf, a recent graduate from the Hargeisa teacher’s college, now teaches at a primary school in Shedaha where he was posted for teacher’s practice. He tried to teach in local schools before he got the chance to join the professional college established in 2017.

Yousuf loves to teach math and science. He now applies the skills he learned from the college as he understands his students better and how to deliver the knowledge to them easily. He also learned how to plan his lessons, from recaps to new topics to small tests, and the students love his methods.

“In 2019, I applied to the teacher training program. It took me two years to finish. Thereafter, myself and 5 other teachers were posted for a month’s practice in Aw Farah school at Shedaha. After finishing the practice, the school’s principal asked me to stay because he liked my methods and experience, and that’s where I teach to date.”

To ensure teachers are practicing the trained teaching skills and instructional delivery, Somaliland National College of Education conducts mentoring and coaching in schools.