Universities and colleges
Lafoole University (Lafoole College), Somalia's teacher training college
Lafoole, 22 km west of Mogadishu on the Afgooye road, was Somalia's main teacher training college and part of the Somali National University. It began as a two-year technical college, became a separate college in 1965 and was renamed Lafoole University in 1973. In 1983 to 1984 it had 1,344 students, 24% of them women, in 13 programmes. It reopened in 2014 as the national university's Faculty of Education.
In short
Lafoole University, often called Lafoole College, was a teaching college at Lafoole in Afgooye district, Lower Shabelle (Wikipedia). It lies 22 km west of Mogadishu on the road to Afgooye (same source). It was Somalia's main teacher training college and part of the Somali National University (same source).
History
- Start: a two-year technical college teaching agricultural science, livestock and civil service skills (Wikipedia).
- 1965: it became a stand-alone college (same source).
- 1972: the Somali National University added a faculty of education (SNU, history).
- 1973: it was renamed Lafoole University (Wikipedia).
- 1984: SNU added technical teacher training (SNU, history).
The college's own account
The Somali National University's Faculty of Education, which calls itself the former Lafoole College of Education, gives this history (SNU Faculty of Education):
- 1963: founded as the National Teacher Education Center, with 60 students.
- 1970s: the four-year programme was cut to two years to train more teachers faster.
- 1983: back to four years, with a new curriculum that added practical teaching.
- 1991: it stopped working because of the civil war.
- 2014: it reopened as part of the Somali National University, after 25 years.
- Today: more than 1,000 students in five departments: educational sciences, science and mathematics, English, social studies, and teacher training.
Sources differ on the founding year: 1963 in the faculty's account, 1965 in Wikipedia's.
Students
In the 1983 to 1984 school year Lafoole had 13 main programmes and 1,344 students, 24% of them women (Wikipedia). Its main purpose was teacher training, but it also turned out thousands of graduates with other degrees (same source).
Two names, two schools
The name "Lafoole College" was sometimes used for the Lafoole Orphanage Boys College, across the Mogadishu to Afgooye road (Wikipedia). That college had two secondary schools: an ordinary one and a technical school supported by West Germany (same source).
Closure and the teacher gap
The college closed in 1991 (SNU Faculty of Education). In 2004 the University of Burao noted that Lafoole, the only college that trained teachers, had been closed for 13 years (Wikipedia, University of Burao). It linked this to the low number of graduate teachers: in the education ministry figures it quoted for 2003/04, only 241 of 2,590 teachers had degrees (same source).
Former students keep an alumni association website (Wikipedia).
Read more
Sources
- Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- SNU, history · snu.edu.so
- SNU Faculty of Education · education.snu.edu.so
- Wikipedia, University of Burao · en.wikipedia.org
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