Girl commits suicide after failing exam in northern Somalia

A student who sat for class 8 exams this year  stabbed herself to death on Sunday, days after failing in her exams at Imam-AlShafi’i primary School in Erigavo in the breakaway Somaliland, relatives said.

Nim’a Ahmed Jam’a, 14,  killed herself around 6 a.m. local time Sunday by stabbing herself seriously after allegedly failing the exam.

After finding her battling for life, her family members took her to a local hospital where she died later during treatment.

“When we found her, she was very weak but her pulse was still beating, reaching the hospital she succumbed to the injuries”  a closed relative who asked not to be named said.

According the relative, Jam’a had an argument with her brother, who was paying the school fees, over her performance and advised her to sit for the exams a second time.

Residents of Erigavo town were shocked when they heard that the student had committed suicide due to the poor examination results.

Abdi Mohamed, a resident said the incident was the first in the region’s history noting it is normal for students to pass and fail in exams. If they fail, it is not the end of the world, said Mohamed.

“There are always opportunities to take and then move forward. Learners should not go to the extent of committing suicide,” said Mohamed

Mohamed blamed a lack of career guidance for the incident.

“Most of the schools in the area lack career guidance but they only think of making money, that is why there are increased cases of students’ failure in most schools across the country,” he said.