Education During the Civilian Rule, 1960-1969
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Education During the Civilian Rule, 1960-1969
Despite the physical and motivational barriers to education during colonialism, the Italian colonial government was required, under UN Trusteeship between 1950 and 1960 to prepare Somalia for independence, and in the process to educate the Somali population. Article IV of the Trusteeship Agreement, for example, specifically required the setting up of modern education systems for Somali children and adult learners (Laitin, 1976). With this, Somalis embraced the values of modern education in the 1950s as an important vehicle for national development (Afrax, 1994). And, as Somalia became an independent republic on 1 July 1960, mass education was promoted as the country’s best available venue for socio-economic advancement. As a sign of the times, Abdillahi Qarshe, a prominent Somali singer/composer, buoyantly sang this popular nationalist song:
Aqoon la’anni waa iftiin la’aane
waa aqal iyo ilays la’aane
Ogaada, ogaada, dugsiyada ogaada
O aada, o aada
Walaalayaal o aada.
(Lack of knowledge is lack of enlightenment
Homelessness and no light
Be aware, be aware of schools
And go to schools, go to schools
brothers and sisters, go to schools).
(Abdillahi Qarshe (1961) cited in Afrax (1994, p. 244)
Immediately after independence in the early 1960s, the positive image of the educated person and what he or she could contribute to the process of nation-building and progress were conspicuous in the Somali culture (Afrax, 1994). In this sense, and as elsewhere in Africa (see Marvin (1975)), education, beyond its utilitarian niche, may have been seen as building character and promoting positive image within the community. Any subordination of education to economic calculations in the African case could have been, therefore, ‘a crude oversimplification of the fact that many people in the continent see education as providing a broader foundation for adult life, and not necessarily just the certificates for the highest paying jobs’ (Marvin, 1975, p. 444).
With 18,000 Somalis enrolled in different schools in the 1961/62 school year, and a university institute with law and economics departments set up by the Italians already in place (Laitin, 1976), the future of Somali education looked promising. If there were any serious shortcomings then, it may have been the lack of script for the Somali language. As the case has been in most post-colonial Africa, the languages of instruction in independent Somalia remained Italian and English, the colonial languages. These two languages were complemented by the Arabic language which was basically confined to several schools run by the Egyptian government. And although the civilian government had indicated its willingness to constitute a script for the Somali language (Laitin, 1976), nothing was done when that government was overthrown by a military coup d’etat on 21 October 1969.
Aqoon la’anni waa iftiin la’aane
waa aqal iyo ilays la’aane
Ogaada, ogaada, dugsiyada ogaada
O aada, o aada
Walaalayaal o aada.
(Lack of knowledge is lack of enlightenment
Homelessness and no light
Be aware, be aware of schools
And go to schools, go to schools
brothers and sisters, go to schools).
(Abdillahi Qarshe (1961) cited in Afrax (1994, p. 244)
Immediately after independence in the early 1960s, the positive image of the educated person and what he or she could contribute to the process of nation-building and progress were conspicuous in the Somali culture (Afrax, 1994). In this sense, and as elsewhere in Africa (see Marvin (1975)), education, beyond its utilitarian niche, may have been seen as building character and promoting positive image within the community. Any subordination of education to economic calculations in the African case could have been, therefore, ‘a crude oversimplification of the fact that many people in the continent see education as providing a broader foundation for adult life, and not necessarily just the certificates for the highest paying jobs’ (Marvin, 1975, p. 444).
With 18,000 Somalis enrolled in different schools in the 1961/62 school year, and a university institute with law and economics departments set up by the Italians already in place (Laitin, 1976), the future of Somali education looked promising. If there were any serious shortcomings then, it may have been the lack of script for the Somali language. As the case has been in most post-colonial Africa, the languages of instruction in independent Somalia remained Italian and English, the colonial languages. These two languages were complemented by the Arabic language which was basically confined to several schools run by the Egyptian government. And although the civilian government had indicated its willingness to constitute a script for the Somali language (Laitin, 1976), nothing was done when that government was overthrown by a military coup d’etat on 21 October 1969.