President Musa Behi Abdi of the Republic of Somaliland, on Monday, prohibited the tradition among privately-owned educational institution
s to shower lavish gifts to students who scored high in national examinations.
His Excellency the President did not name any particular school but schools who made a practice of that habit were not that many.
“More than 80% of Somaliland students go to public schools. Private institutions account for the rest. That students are awarded luxury cars, gold and other expensive gifts is a development that my government does not encourage, and it must stop. No more will the haves flaunt their wealth on the majority,” the President said.
“It has come to our notice that some schools separate the more promising of their students from the rest for the last six months preceding the exam day. They put them on an intensive regimen, assigning special instructors to prepare them for the exam. All because of the honour of this school or that school bagging the most slots on the top ten list. That will not happen again, either,” the President said.
“The education and health sectors have become highly commercialized thus marginalizing the bulk of the society,” he said.
The president stated that both sectors were currently under review.
President Bihi, yesterday, inaugurated the beginning of the unrecognized, de facto country’s national exams for upper primary and secondary schools.
Twenty-nine thousand five hundred and forty-six (29, 546) students sat for the 2018-2019 final exams throughout the country from Buran in Sanaag east to Lawyacadde on the border with Djibouti on Saturday.
Hargeisa, Maroodijeex
Sool, 13 localities, 1424 students
Erigavo Sanaag
Borama, Awdal: 4000 students
Burao, Togdheer: 5000+ for region
Berbera, Sahel region
Gabiley: 2072 students
