President Silanyo Acted to Fulfill of Its Major Election Pledges
By: Ahmed Adan Haibe
Since the end of World War II in 1945, a world rise in people’s aspirations in education has culminated in demand for education as a human right and an investment for manpower development. The declaration of education as a basic human right in the world conference on education.
The Islam states that every child has a right to education that develops their personality, talents, mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. Any nation’s children are its future workers, citizens and leaders. Education remains the major tool by which people become economically and socially empowered. However, this situation is grossly affected by the cost of Education.
Thus, In January 2011, less than one year after assuming office, the new Somaliland government led by President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo acted to fulfill one of its major election pledges by launching a Free Primary Education program.
The initiative had a straightforward, but ambitious, purpose is to make primary schooling accessible to all Somaliland young of appropriate age, wherever they lived and whatever their family circumstances.
In the words of Power to live a decent life, Power that brings you income, respect and dignity. When knowledge can bestow the power, Knowledge needs to be free for all those who deserve it.
When the parents are not able to meet such cost, it results to high dropout rate that diminishes the pool of qualified people from diverse backgrounds who will enter the professional and political ranks that make important public policy decisions in the country.
The person deserves should be decided by an individual capability and intelligence and not by wealth. The best and simplest way to disseminate knowledge to all those who deserve it, is through free education.
Education is widely seen as one of the most promising paths for individuals to realize better, more productive lives and as one of the primary drivers of national economic development.
Making education free at the least at the primary level, or maybe, even up to the secondary and/or post-secondary level, would only benefit our society and solve various problems related to the family income.
Our society is more divided by income than by any other criteria. There is the unbelievably rich the middle income group, the poor, and those in utter poverty. And amidst all this are impoverishment, unemployment, and destitution. How can anyone think of spending money on education, when they do not have money for food and shelter? However, education is the remedy for all these ills that plague our society.
Education is the only means that can open up the doors that lead to employment, and through it food, shelter and better quality of life. Therefore, providing free education to the deserving ensures that at least the future generation can step through these doors to a better living.
The expansion resulting from the abolition of fees improved poorer households’ access to primary education by a much larger degree than wealthier households’ access.
This improved access implied a major redistribution of government education resources towards the poor.
There is now a strong benefit of free education on household income. Studies have shown that attending free education schools program not only increases children’s enrollment for schools, but also causes positive long-term improvements in poor family education.
The messages are clear. Though access to primary schooling may have improved, for many it
Is likely that the quality of what they have access to has deteriorated.
Finally and truly, President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo acted to fulfill one of its major election pledges by launching a Free Primary Education program.
Ahmed Adan Haibe ( Qalinmal)