Education in Somaliland: Schools, Universities and the Road Ahead

Somaliland’s schools and universities tell a story of recovery. The school system was completely destroyed during the civil war, a 2010 research paper notes. It was rebuilt from modest beginnings in the early 1990s, and universities followed about a decade later.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and governs itself. Somalia regards it as part of its territory. Israel (December 2025) is so far the only UN member state to recognise it (see Somaliland’s foreign relations).

Education in Somaliland at a glance

Here are the key figures in one place.

Primary pupils	305,811 in 2020/21, about 44% girls
Secondary students	72,125 in 2020/21, about 42% girls
School structure	8 years of primary, 4 of secondary
Languages	Somali in primary, English in secondary
University students	39,525 (2021 baseline), 48% women
National exams, 2026	42,519 candidates, a record

How education in Somaliland is organised

Primary school runs for eight years, grades 1 to 8, and ends with a national certificate exam. Secondary school then lasts four years, forms 1 to 4. Both national exams are held each June.

Languages change along the way. Primary pupils learn in Somali, and secondary students in English. Moving from Somali to English at secondary level is a substantial barrier for many students, the education charity Windle Trust International notes. Arabic and English are also taught as subjects from primary school. Most universities teach mainly in English.

Public primary schooling was declared free in 2011. That January, the finance minister announced that all public primary and intermediate schools would be free of charge. Until then, pupils had paid about $2.50 a month in fees since 1995.

Interest in exams keeps growing. In June 2026, 42,519 students sat the national certificate exams for middle and secondary schools, the highest number on record.

Enrolment: education in Somaliland in numbers

The Ministry of Education and Science publishes a yearly statistics book. In 2018/19, it counted 257,340 primary pupils. Two years later, the figure was 305,811, in 1,274 primary and 210 secondary schools.

Even so, many children are still not in class. The same 2020/21 yearbook gives a primary gross enrolment rate of 32% and a net rate of 24%. For secondary school, the rates are 18% and 8%. In 2019, the UN reported more than half of children out of school. In rural areas only 26% were in primary school, and among displaced children 16%.

Religious learning sits alongside the state system. A government planning report counts 192,970 pupils in 2,441 Quranic schools.

Universities in Somaliland

Higher education in Somaliland has grown fast. Somaliland’s National Commission for Higher Education names Amoud University as the first institution, established in 1998. Here are the best-known names.

Amoud University, Borama

The university itself gives 1997 as its founding year. It stands in the Amoud valley near Borama, on the grounds of the former Amoud Secondary School, which dates from 1952. Today it has over 6,000 students in 14 faculties.

University of Hargeisa

The university in Hargeisa opened around the turn of the millennium; Wikipedia gives both 1998 and 2000. It has 14 colleges, schools and institutes, from medicine and law to the Gaariye Institute of Somali Studies. At its 22nd graduation in August 2025, more than 1,355 students graduated.

Gollis and Burao

Gollis University began in 2004 as a teaching college and became a university in 2005. It now has seven campuses, from Hargeisa and Berbera to Erigavo. In the east, the public University of Burao (Burao University) also dates from 2004. It lists 11 faculties and more than 2,500 students. Read more about the city in our guide to Burao.

Edna Adan University

Edna Adan Ismail, a former foreign minister, opened her maternity hospital in Hargeisa on 9 March 2002. The hospital had a wing for training nurses and midwives, and a university grew alongside it. Wikipedia, citing the university, dates it to 2010. However, a 2016 letter from the founder described it as three and a half years old. By 2016, the hospital and university had trained 880 health workers, including 285 nurses and midwives.

Abaarso: a school with a global reach

One secondary school has drawn worldwide attention to education in Somaliland. Abaarso School of Science and Technology opened in 2009, founded by Jonathan Starr, an American former hedge fund manager. Its first class graduated in 2013. Starr has written that its students then won the first American university scholarships seen in Somaliland or Somalia in decades.

The results have grown since. In 2026, the education prize platform T4 Education shortlisted Abaarso and reported more than 350 students at top international universities. These include Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge. Scholarships have passed $55 million. Thousands sit the free entrance exam each year, for about 40 to 50 places. Former students now make up about 30% of the teachers.

Challenges for education in Somaliland: quality, funding and girls

Raising quality is a key task. In 2024, the Higher Education Council said only seven institutions could teach medical and health courses. In December 2024, the national commission held its first higher education conference on quality, noting a lack of accreditation frameworks.

At school level, only 55% of primary teachers are qualified, with about 40 pupils per teacher. Funding is tight, too. In 2019, UNICEF and the government planned a $64 million programme to reach more than 54,000 children. At launch, only $6.7 million had been pledged.

For girls, the picture is mixed. They are about 44% of primary pupils, yet women are only 19% of primary teachers and 4% of secondary teachers. At university, women are close to half the students but just 2% of lecturers.

Jobs are the final step. Many graduates lack follow-up opportunities such as work, the 2010 study found. That links schooling closely to the Somaliland economy.

How the diaspora and international partners support education in Somaliland

Somalilanders abroad helped build education in Somaliland. The idea for Amoud University came from four intellectuals working in the Gulf in 1994. Research on diaspora-backed universities describes that support as both economic and social, bringing money as well as ideas.

Partners from abroad have helped as well. Since 2000, the King’s Somaliland Partnership at King’s College London has worked with Amoud, Edna Adan and Hargeisa universities. Its UK-funded project taught 838 medical, nursing and midwifery students online. It also trained 129 university staff in teaching and assessment.

Education in Somaliland is still young, and communities at home and abroad have done much to build it. To feel the country’s love of books and ideas, plan a visit to Hargeisa around the Hargeisa International Book Fair.

Sources

1. Diasporic engagement in the educational sector in post-conflict Somaliland: a contribution to peacebuilding, Markus Hoehne, Diaspeace Working Paper 5, University of Jyväskylä, 2010.
2. Somaliland Education Statistics Yearbook 2020/2021, Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Somaliland (uploaded January 2022; accessed 28 October 2026).
3. Somaliland Education Statistics Yearbook 2018/19, Ministry of Education and Science, December 2019.
4. Somaliland Education Fact Sheet, HALI Access Network (undated, c. 2023; accessed 28 October 2026).
5. Education sector booklet, NDP III mid-term review, Ministry of Planning and National Development, Somaliland (uploaded January 2026; accessed 28 October 2026).
6. Somaliland Sets Record As 42,519 Students Begin Exams, Mohamed Duale, Horn Diplomat via AllAfrica, 28 June 2026.
7. Somaliland’s Education Sector Strategic Plan 2012–2016, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Somaliland, 2012 (via UNESCO IIEP Planipolis).
8. Education in Somaliland, Windle Trust International (undated; accessed 28 October 2026).
9. The English Language and Somaliland: a strategic relationship, Sairah Rees, Windle Trust International (accessed 28 October 2026).
10. Free education “too expensive” for Somaliland, IRIN (The New Humanitarian), 25 January 2011.
11. With half of Somaliland children not in school, UNICEF and partners launch education access programme, UN News, 13 July 2019.
12. 1st Somaliland Higher Education Conference Report 2024, National Commission for Higher Education (prepared by Ibrahim Dhamac), January 2025.
13. Amoud University: 24th Graduation Ceremony, Amoud University, 8 September 2025.
14. Amoud University, Wikipedia (accessed 28 October 2026).
15. University of Hargeisa, Wikipedia (accessed 28 October 2026).
16. Somaliland Education Minister Urges Graduates to Boost Progress with Tech Integration, Maxamuud Walaaleeye, Horn Tribune, 28 August 2025.
17. About Gollis University, Gollis University (accessed 28 October 2026).
18. University of Burao, University of Burao (accessed 28 October 2026).
19. Edna Adan Ismail, Wikipedia (accessed 28 October 2026), citing Direct Relief (2012).
20. Edna Adan University, Wikipedia (accessed 28 October 2026), citing the university’s history page (2017).
21. The Edna Adan University Hospital celebrates 14 years, letter from Edna Adan Ismail, Somaliland Sun, 14 March 2016.
22. It takes a school: An extraordinary story of success in Somaliland, Jonathan Starr, World Bank Blogs, 29 May 2017.
23. Somaliland to Ivy League: How one African school gets kids into top U.S. universities, CNNMoney, 21 April 2016.
24. Abaarso School of Science and Technology – 2026 Top 10 Shortlist, Overcoming Adversity, T4 Education, 19 June 2026.
25. Higher Education Commission announces list of universities that can offer medical courses, Somaliland Standard, 28 January 2024.
26. King’s Somaliland Partnership, King’s College London (accessed 28 October 2026).
27. Higher education for health professions in Somaliland, King’s College London (accessed 28 October 2026).

Last checked 28 October 2026. Found an error or something out of date? Tell us.