Somalia's education system is run by several governments at once. The Federal Government sets national policy, the federal member states run their own education ministries, and Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 and administers its own education system (the Federal Government considers it part of Somalia), operates separately. Most schools and almost all universities are privately or community-owned.
Governance
- Federal level: the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE) in Mogadishu sets national policy, curriculum and standards, administers the national secondary examination and, through the new National Higher Education Commission, oversees universities. Regional and district education officers report to the ministry, and its Department of Umbrella and Private Education deals with non-state schools.
- Federal member states: Jubaland, South West, Hirshabelle, Galmudug and Puntland each have their own education ministry with a state budget. Puntland's Ministry of Education and Higher Education runs its own Grade 8 and Grade 12 examinations and nine regional education offices.
- Banadir (Mogadishu): schools are supervised by the federal ministry working with the Banadir Regional Administration.
- Somaliland: the Ministry of Education and Science, formed in 1992, runs its own schools and examinations, and a separate commission oversees higher education; a National Education Law was adopted in 2018.
- Religious education: Qur'anic schools are overseen by religious-affairs ministries.
Laws and policies
The 2012 Provisional Constitution (Article 30) guarantees free education up to secondary level. Federal planning has been organised through Education Sector Strategic Plans, including the 2018–2020 plan, and the education chapter of the National Development Plan. In August 2018 the federal government announced a new national curriculum and a language policy: Somali as the medium of instruction in primary school, English and Arabic at secondary level. A Higher Education Law passed in 2024 set up a national commission to register and assess universities. Somaliland adopted a National Education Law and private education regulations in 2018, and Puntland has its own Education Act.
Examinations and certificates
- Federal: national secondary (Grade 12) examinations, reintroduced in 2015. In 2026, 42,916 students sat the exam in June and 40,037 passed.
- Puntland: Grade 8 and Grade 12 examinations run by the ministry's examination and certification office, with results published online.
- Somaliland: national certificate examinations at the end of each level, required by the National Education Law.
School calendar
The main national examinations are held in June, and results follow in August: in 2026 the federal Grade 12 exams ran from 20 to 25 June, and results were released in mid-August. Each administration, umbrella network and private school sets its own detailed term dates, and holidays for Ramadan and Eid move each year with the lunar calendar.
Financing
Public spending covers only part of the system. Families pay fees at most schools and universities, umbrella networks run more than a thousand schools, and donors fund school construction and emergency education. According to UNESCO's PEER profile, 87.5% of primary pupils and 91.5% of secondary pupils were in non-government institutions in 2015–16. The 2025 humanitarian appeal for education sought US$68.6 million and was 29% funded by May 2025.
Key challenges
- Access: an estimated 4.5 million school-age children, more than half, were out of school in 2025 (UN OCHA).
- Quality: in higher education, 86% of institutions surveyed by HIPS in 2013 reported low capacity among teaching and administrative staff.
- Fragmentation: curricula, examinations and regulators differ between administrations.
- Shocks: conflict, drought, floods and displacement repeatedly disrupt schooling.
Recent reforms
- Expansion of federal national examinations since 2015, held in 158 centres across 58 districts in 2026.
- The 2024 Higher Education Law, the National Higher Education Commission and draft university quality standards (2026).
- A national learning assessment framework prepared by the federal ministry's quality assurance department (2025).
- Rehabilitation of historic public schools and vocational centres in Mogadishu in 2026.