Mogadishu Children Attend School despite Political Chaos | Voice of America - English
/*-->*/  /*-->*/  /*-->*/ About 20 years ago, the government of Somalia collapsed, and so did its education system and other social services. There are a few private schools, including universities, but few can afford the high tuitions. In the capital, Mogadishu, education has deteriorated even more, with fighting between rival factions and between the factions and  the Ethiopian-backed government.
Al Hikma School is in southern Mogadishu andit provides all levels of education under one roof ? primary, intermediate, andsecondary. In one class, the studentsrange from 13 to 25 years old. Al Hikma is one of about 10 schools in the capital. They set their own curriculum and teach inEnglish or Arabic. Parents pay about $10.00 tuition per month. VariousNGOs help supply books and teaching materials. But most families cannot affordthe tuition, and their children stay home. Mostof the schools are Islamic. The boys areon one side of the class, and the girls are on the other. The students say theyare happy to sit separately. The students and teachers have problemscontinuing their education because of the growing instability in the city. Theschool is located near a military base where fighting has sometimes broken out. Student Mohamed Jama Faisal: "I have been going to this school for sixyears. I have never seen such problems. Sometimes wars can happen either onyour way to school or at school and this worries me and my family." Mohamed's classmates have fled the country, while others have died in theviolence: "This remaining year is likean endless nightmare. It is even longerthan the five years I have been at this school. Two of my friends died on theirway to this school when [fighting] erupted. [In the last round of fighting] a mortar shell that hit the MogadishuUniversity compound killed [one of its professors] Professor Kastro." Students aren't the only ones who are worried;teachers are too. Hussain Ilyas Farah is a teacher at Al Kalamschoolin southwestern Mogadishu.Unarmed security guards are posted at the school, but that has not keptuniformed students from being arrested. Militaryand civilian police officials deny they are behind the attacks. Many parents have withdrawntheir children from school. Farah says: "Neither teachers nor students are safe outside or inside school. Men inmilitary or police uniforms attack us inside school when they are attacked byIslamic insurgents. These attacks result in death and injury among students andteachers." A study of Bendadir Provinceshows that 35% of Mogadishu'sstudents were displaced in the violence. More than 30 schools were forced toclose; many others moved to temporary locations. There are about 10 schoolsleft in the capital. The Formal Private Education Network inSomalia is an umbrella group that includes most schools in Mogadishu. Its officials say that over the past twoyears the number of students have fallen by half due to the growing insecurityin the city. Hussain Farah is the head of the group and saysthe Network provides education under unusual circumstances. He hopes thingswill improve in the coming years. Sofar, there's no evidence it will. Ethiopia has withdrawn its troops fromMogadishu, where they supported the transitional federal government. Observers say fighting between it andopponents will likely increase insecurity in the city until one side decisivelyprevails.