Somalia to Recruit 4,000 Teachers, Completing 10,000-Teacher National Target

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: The federal government of Somalia has said it will recruit 4,000 new teachers, bringing the total number hired under its national teacher recruitment programme to 10,000, as it seek to expand access to basic education and improve teaching standards across the country.

The recruitment plan was announced in a communiqué following an education consultation meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education and education ministries from Somalia’s federal member states.

The government recruited 6,000 teachers in 2023 and 2024, meaning the latest intake will fulfil its original target of 10,000 teachers.

The new teachers are expected to help expand education services, particularly in rural communities and areas recently recovered from armed groups, where children have often had limited access to schools.

The programme is also intended to reduce the number of children excluded from formal education, strengthen implementation of a unified national curriculum and improve the quality of teaching.

The plan comes as the federal government and Puntland remain divided over the participation of the autonomous state in the national programme.

The federal government has retained teacher positions allocated to Puntland during the 2023 and 2024 recruitment rounds amid the political dispute between Mogadishu and Garowe.

If the disagreement remains unresolved, Puntland could for a third consecutive year decline to participate in the recruitment of teachers allocated to its territory.

The dispute over the teacher programme forms part of wider political differences between Puntland and the federal government.

The latest recruitment is expected to be particularly important for communities in rural and newly recovered areas, where years of insecurity have disrupted education and other public services.

Increasing the number of teachers could help the government reopen or expand schools while giving more children access to basic education.

However, officials face the broader challenge of ensuring that new recruits are properly trained and deployed to areas with the greatest shortages.

The government will also need to maintain funding for salaries, teacher development and school infrastructure if the additional recruitment is to translate into sustained improvements in education.