SOMALIA - Mogadishu University: Success Amidst Turmoil

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DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON

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TAGS: PGOV EAID KPAO SOCI SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Mogadishu University: Success Amidst Turmoil

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Summary
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1. Mogadishu University, opened in September 1997, stands as a
tremendous success, even while operating in Mogadishu's tumultuous
environment. Despite the violent civil conflict that continues to
engulf Somalia's capital, the university continues to provide higher
education to Somalis and has graduated a full class of students each
year. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, students continue to
take classes and move between various campuses to avoid areas of
conflict. Women's enrollment has increased substantially, and the
university continues to develop plans to expand its faculties and
campuses throughout the country. End Summary.

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Mogadishu University Remains Open:
Despite All Odds
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2. Somali National University, established in 1970, was closed
permanently in 1990, destroyed by the country's civil war. Over the
next seven years, Somali intellectuals and former professors
attempted to establish a non-state university to ensure the
possibility of higher education in Somalia. Because education had
previously been in the hands of the government, the idea of private
education and paying for school was new for most people. At that
time, amidst ongoing civil conflict, no one in Somalia believed that
a university could be founded. Abdurahman Abdullahi, a founding
member of Mogadishu University, and the current university chairman,
told us "there was a lack of money and institutions, and the country
was on fire."


3. Despite all odds, Mogadishu University (MU) opened on 22
September 1997, in the presence of four founding members and five
teaching staff. The first class had 215 students in 3 faculties:
Education, Law and Sharia, and the Arts and Humanities. Today, MU
has expanded to 7 undergraduate faculties: Education; Sharia and
Law; Arts and Humanities; Economics and Management Sciences;
Computer Science and Information Technology; Nursing; and Political
Science and Mass Media, as well as a number of post-graduate
partnership programs in collaboration with universities in Sudan and
Malaysia. To date, 6,358 students have enrolled in the university
since its inception twelve years ago - a tremendous success given
the country's instability.


4. For its first five years of operation, the university did not
pursue aggressive external fundraising, with the aim of being
locally driven and self-sustainable. MU raised revenue from
students, NGOs in the Arab world, and donations from Somalis.
Unused to paying school fees, only 20 of the first class of 215
students were able to pay their fees at the end of the year. The
administration waived fees and offered six different types of
scholarships to its students. Today, school fees range between
$500-$800/year. Many students still receive university scholarships
and others receive assistance from relatives in the diaspora. Over
70% of students work part-time, generally as primary or secondary
school teachers. Children of all of MU's 250 employees are eligible
for free university education, an incentive created to attract
qualified candidates, as salaries remain relatively low and
insecurity in the region is high.

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Conflict-Oriented Operating Strategies
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5. Since its inception, MU has had to confront major security
challenges. In the university's first year of operation, a group of
militia took over university classrooms, claiming the land as their
own. In response, the administrators decided to operate fully
independently of the government and any public spaces. The
university founders began renting private rooms, beginning with a
temporary rental of the Sinah hotel in Yaqshid, on the former "green
line" that divided the capital. Two campuses were developed - one
in the Wardhigley district, and the second outside of the city, 3 km
from the industrial road by Yaqshid. The Islamic Development Bank
offered $400,000 in seed funding to begin the construction of
university buildings.


6. The university continued operating throughout the war, despite
escalating instability. In the late 1990s, insurgents began

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fighting around the university property, looted several buildings,
and killed several security guards. To remain operational during
the conflict, MU set up temporary campuses around Mogadishu,
expanding areas where prominent high schools were already operating.
These campuses, which continue to operate today, include areas in
and around Kilometer 4, Bondhere
(close to Wardhigley),Bulo-Hobey (near the airport),and most
recently, in Bosasso (Puntland).


7. Over the past year, students have been forced to frequently move
from one campus to another due to conflict. The university has
relied upon a system of mobile phone communication via SMS text
messages to notify students where their classes will be held.
According to the Chairman, students have adapted well and "studies
have been minimally disrupted." The university successfully
graduated a full class of students this June. Although a Somali
lecturer and a masters student were killed in 2009, neither were
directly targeted. According to Professor Abdi Dahir Dirie, advisor
to the university president, staff and students are not targeted by
al-Shabaab or the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) because of
widespread respect for the university and because "everyone's child
is there, on both sides."


8. Beyond security concerns, MU faces funding challenges. There is
a lack of resources to conduct institutional capacity-building,
training, outreach, or to establish a library and provide adequate
teaching materials in both English and Arabic. Chairman Abdullahi
noted the lack of support from international organizations, as
everyone is focused solely on emergency aid to
Somalia. "No one is thinking about creating the leadership of the
future," he told us. Professor Dirie said that the university faces
challenges in maintaining its competitiveness and quality,
especially in terms of bringing in lecturers who are willing to work
in Mogadishu.

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Establishing an American Corner
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9. The Somalia Unit has successfully delivered material for and
established an American Corner at Mogadishu University. We are in
the process of working with the university to establish what
additional materials are required and how we can optimize this vital
resource for both university and USG goals. The President of the
University will be in Nairobi in the coming weeks and we will
conduct a small ceremony at which we will sign the formal Memorandum
of Understanding. In the meantime, our facilitators, including a
recent International Visitor's Leadership Program alumnus, have set
up the American Corner and have begun using it as a resource center
for the students.

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MU Increases Women's Enrollment
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10. Since its founding, there has been a concerted effort to
increase women's enrollment in MU. In the 1997/1998 class, just 9%
of the class was female; ten years later the rate more than tripled
to 31%. Saida Mohamed Hashi, a 37 year old Mogadishu-born woman,
was a member of MU's first class, graduating from the Faculty of
Sharia and Law in 2001. Out of 31 students in her class, she was
one of 3 women. Today, Saida is vice-chairperson for the Justice
Watch Association (JUWA),a Somali human rights organization. She
explained to us, "Without my education at Mogadishu University, I
would not have arrived to where I am today." USAID and CARE have
sponsored 20 female students in the 2008/2009 academic year as part
of the first cohort of the National Campaign for Young Women
Leadership Scholarships. All the women graduated with high academic
performances.

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Plans for the Future
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11. Mogadishu University's vision for the future includes
maintaining its headquarters in Mogadishu, operating a branch in
Bosasso, and opening a new campus in Baidoa. The University has
secured land in Baidoa and is planning on expansion in 2011. The
Chairman said that MU hopes to establish an engineering faculty,
medical school, and university hospital. Classes will resume in the
first week of September, and, as the Chairman noted, the university

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will continue to promote its message that "education should continue
by any means." We will continue to work with the university, via
the scholarship program, American Corner, and other collaborative
initiatives to integrate its faculties, staff and students with
peace-building and governance efforts.

SLUTZ