Getting children into school was the first task. Helping them learn is the next.
Primary enrollment in the Somali Region is now close to universal, a remarkable achievement for a region where it stood below 10 percent a generation ago. The next challenge is keeping children in school and making sure they learn. Net enrollment falls to 14 percent by Grades 7–8 and 15 percent in secondary school, roughly half the national rate. Fewer girls than boys stay enrolled. Classrooms average 61 pupils per teacher, the highest ratio in the country, and textbooks, water and basic facilities are stretched thin across a vast territory.
Our role in education.
SEED concentrates on the point where the region’s education system is under greatest strain: the early grades, where a child either learns to read or falls permanently behind, and the rural and pastoralist communities that a fixed school cannot easily reach. We work with the Regional Education Bureau, teachers and communities, and our contribution is to test better ways of teaching and learning at a scale that can be measured, then offer what succeeds to the schools and bureaus that can carry it across the region.
Technology and AI
Where there are not enough teachers, AI-assisted learning that works offline and in Somali can give every child a tutor that adapts to them, and give every teacher a clear view of who is falling behind and why. We look first for tools proven elsewhere; where none exist for Somali-speaking children, we build them and release them openly.
Research and publishing
We study what works in education in the Somali Region, evaluate our own work independently, and publish the findings openly for the public and for regional and federal government. About our research →
Every child in the Somali Region learns to read, write and count, and has a real path through secondary school.