Somalia has one of the lowest primary school enrollment rates in the world. Just 30% of all school-age children have access to learning opportunities, with over 3 million children remaining out of school. Those in South and Central Somalia are affected the worst. Among rural and IDP children the situation is even worse, with only 17% enrolled in primary schools — mostly in NGO-run temporary learning centers.

This situation was aggravated by the extreme droughts in 2016 and 2017, as well as the continuing conflict in many locations. The recent education sector analysis shows that 6 in 10 children that are eligible for primary and secondary education in Somalia are outside of the education system, with almost half never having enrolled in the first place (45.9%), according to the DHS performed in 2018. In fact, there is inequitable access to education at primary level.

More than 1.8 million school-aged children were excluded from school according to the national ESA (education sector analysis) reported in June 2021. In southern and central Somalia, conflict and insecurity spiked, driving cycles of displacement, disruptions to livelihood activities, and constraints on trade and humanitarian access.

This has lead to limited access and continuity of education. With this intervention, the Somali coalition for education will focus on engagement of civil society actors and the local communities enabling them to make the government accountable on assisting vulnerable girls and boys who face barriers to accessing inclusive education services.

This project will ultimately seek to engage civil society groups to push the State and Non-State actors to expand equitable and inclusive access to quality educational opportunities at least 10% from overall 1.8 million out-of-school disadvantaged children aged 6-13 for the period between 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2023, with a focus on promoting the right to inclusive education for boys and girls in different circumstances such as internally displaced, child labor, street children, urban poor, youth minority groups, refugee returnees, nomads in far-reachable areas, children with disabilities and disadvantaged girls.

The first phase of the project was implemented in 2020-2021 with support from Education Out Loud of 217.365 USD.