Ministry of Education of Somalia (Wasaaradda Waxbarashada): what it does

What it does

The federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE) sets national education policy for Somalia (SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024). Its main jobs are:

• Curriculum: it writes the national curriculum for grades 1 to 12. In December 2025 the minister announced a full review of the curriculum in 2026, a review committee was set up, and the ministry laid the foundation stone of a national curriculum development centre (Dawan Africa, curriculum review; Dawan Africa, curriculum centre).
• National exams: through the Somali National Examination Board it runs the Grade 8 and Grade 12 exams. The 2025/26 Grade 12 exams ran from 20 to 25 June 2026, with 44,136 students in 158 exam centres across 58 districts. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre opened them (Dawan Africa, June 2026; Garowe Online). For results, see Exam results.
• Teachers: it sets teacher standards. At a national education meeting in August 2026 the federal government, the states and Banadir agreed on reforms, and the government announced the hiring of 4,000 teachers (Dawan Africa, August 2026).
• School counts: it counts pupils, schools and teachers each year in the regions it reaches; the statistics bureau publishes them (SNBS). See Schools in numbers.
• Universities: it registers universities. About 130 are registered, and in 2026 the National Higher Education Commission began reviewing them against national standards (Dawan Africa, August 2026). See Somali universities one by one.

Who leads it

Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir is the federal minister. In April 2026 he called for one national curriculum and tighter rules for teachers, saying the federal system had weakened common standards and oversight (Dawan Africa, April 2026; AllAfrica).

How the work is shared

Education is shared between the federal government and the member states. The federal ministry sets national policy, the curriculum and exams; state ministries of education run schools in their states. Puntland and Somaliland run their own ministries, curricula and exams: the federal school count does not include them (SNBS). In August 2026 Somaliland's Ministry of Education and Science announced its own 2025/26 national exam results (AllAfrica, August 2026).

In numbers

From the ministry's own count for 2024/25 (SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024, Tables 1.1 to 1.5):

• Primary pupils: 644,904, of whom 45.8 percent are girls. Banadir has 240,373.
• Secondary pupils: 201,697, of whom 42.3 percent are girls.
• Private schools: about half of primary pupils (50.6 percent in 2025) attend private schools.

The bureau's tables do not all agree; Schools in numbers lists the differences.

A short history

The Ministry of Education ran a single national school system from independence in 1960. After Somali was first written in 1972, it led the move to Somali-language schooling and the literacy campaigns of 1973 to 1975, and primary enrolment rose from 6.9 percent in 1971 to 31.8 percent in 1977 (UNESCO UIS). The national system stopped in 1991, and communities, private schools and Quran schools kept teaching. The federal ministry rebuilt its role after 2012. See The Somali language is written, 1972.

How to use it

• Exam registration and results: through your school; results are published by the examination board.
• Certificates: national exam certificates are issued through the examination board.
• University recognition: check that a university is registered with the ministry before enrolling.

Its legal basis

The 2012 Provisional Constitution, which gives every person the right to education (Article 30), as amended in 2024 and 2026; the ministry's mandate is set by the Council of Ministers.