Somalia: Thousands of students displaced as floods submerge schools

Tens of thousands of students in Somalia’s central Hiran region have been forced to stay out of schools after heavy rains flooded the institutions.

According to Somali education officials, more than 37,000 students in this region in central Somalia are no longer in school due to the impact of recent flooding. The area has been battered by heavy rains resulting in severe flooding in schools.

Parents are worried about how the disruption of education will affect their children’s performance in the upcoming national examinations, and the floods also raised concerns of local teachers about the long-term impact on the education.

“The learning materials have been destroyed and the classrooms have been damaged. It will be very difficult to recover, because most of the students have been displaced to far away locations, and it will be hard to bring them back and resume lessons,” said Elmi Hashi Dhalin, a teacher in Somalia.
Parents of the affected students have been appealing to the government to intervene.

“There is no learning here for the children. There is water everywhere. As parents, we are calling upon the Ministry of Education to establish schools in higher grounds, so that when the flooding season comes, students can continue their learning activities,” Barre Ali Gedi, a student parent.

Last year, the Somali government organized special exams after similar incidents of flooding disrupted the exam timetable. Officials say they will do all they can to help.

“The students in this region always have the worry of not taking part in the examination exercise despite hard work and preparation due to the flood havoc. We hope that will not happen again this year, ” said Mustaf Osman Mohamud, director of education of the Beledweyn District in Somalia.