Co-funded by the
Erasmus+ Programmeof the European Union

SOMALIA

Refugees
Country
Briefing

REACT aims to enhance themobility, employability andaccess to further studies forrefugees, displaced persons
and persons in a refugee-likesituation.

1

Sudan2Ethiopia

Somalia
Kenya
UgandaSomalia
Official name: The Federal Republic of Somalia
Location: 		
Eastern Africa, located in the Horn of Africa bordering the			Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia and 					 Kenya
Population:

11 million

Ethnic groups: Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including			
30,000 Arabs). Somalis share the same language, religion
			and culture, but Somali communities are divided in clans			which in turn are subdivided in tribes and tribal families.
Demographic
profile:		
			
			
			

More than 2 million Somalis are currently displaced.
An estimated 1.5 million people are internally displaced 		in Somalia and nearly 900,000 are refugees in
the near region, mainly in Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and Uganda.

Languages:
Somali (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal			Charter), Arabic (official, according to the 2012 Transitional			
Federal Charter), English, Italian			
Language of instruction can be Somali, Arabic and English			
depending on the school and region				This country briefing – especially developed to help with the evaluation of
credentials of refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-likesituation – should give orientation on the education system in Somalia inthe light of recent political and economic developments in this country.
It presents a systematised overview on its higher education system andlinks to the available information sources that are useful for the evaluationof qualifications of refugees coming from Somalia, even in cases where
candidates present insufficient or lack of documentation.
Source: CIA World Factbook

3

History and current situation
The overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre’s regime
in 1991, the following civil war and the subsequentcollapse of the central government and its publicand civil institutions left Somalia one of the poorest
countries in the world. Somalia was for long
dubbed “the world’s most failed state”. After the civil
war up to 90% of schools were destroyed. Even
today, Somalia has one of the world’s lowest grossenrolment rates for primary school aged children.

Regional differences
Somalia is divided into three regions: the selfdeclared ‘Republic of Somaliland’ in the northwest;‘Puntland State of Somalia’ in the northeast; and‘South and Central Somalia’ (SCS). The state ofdevelopment as well as the educational structuresdiffer from one region to another.
SOMALILAND
Somaliland declared itself independent in 1991.
Borders are based on the former colonial bordersof British-Somalia. The last widespread fighting
took place in 1995. Since then, the region isrelatively stable (compared to South and Central
Somalia). Though not internationally recognised,
Somaliland has a working political system,
government institutions (including a Ministry of
Education), a police force and its own currency.
The civil administration estimates that the region’s
population is approximately 3.5 million.
PUNTLAND
Following a conference of local elders, Puntland
declared itself an autonomous state in August
1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare engulfing
southern Somalia. The population is estimatedto be 2.5 million. Despite its relative stability, theregion has endured armed conflicts, and wasworldwide in the news for the upsurge in pirate
attacks on international shipping in the Indian
Ocean. Puntland is a destination for many Somalis
displaced by violence in the south. The region of
Puntland has its own Ministry of Education.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL SOMALIA
South and Central Somalia is the most challenging
region of the country. The seizure of the capital
Mogadishu and much of the country’s south bya coalition of Islamist shariah courts in 2006

prompted an intervention by Ethiopian, and later,
African Union, forces.
Since 2012, when a new internationally-backed
government was installed, Somalia has been
inching towards stability, but the new authorities still
face a challenge from Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabab
insurgents.
The impact of the civil war still has an acutebearing on the restoration of public education.
State intervention in the education has been andremains limited. There is a Ministry of Education,
but it cannot yet implement its policies all over theregion. Hence, education projects are still rather
private than public venture, even though progress
can be seen. Efforts to unify different school
systems curricula can be observed.

Somalia was for long
dubbed “the world’s mostfailed state”. After thecivil war up to 90% ofschools were destroyed.
Even today, Somalia has
one of the world’s lowest
gross enrolment rates
for primary school aged
children.

4

Education chart
Master´s Degree

Bachelor of Arts /Bachelor of Science

02Bachelor of Engineering
3-4

Bachelor of Medicine
5

6-7

Secondary school*

4Intermediate school*

4

Elementary school*4= Duration of education
Source: *chart was drawn according recent announcements on the school 							system (see: https://theirworld.org/news/somalia-shakes-up-education-								system-schools-after-years-of-conflict), even though it is not yet implemented.

Education System
Primary and Secondary
Education
Following the collapse of the central government in1991 Somalia was left with a lack of a centralized
education system. Until present, there is nocoherent educational system.
Educational systems in Somaliland, Puntland
and South and Central Somalia have developed
separately and even within South and Central
Somalia might be found different school systems
and curricula, depending if the school is run by alocal or international NGO, both Islamic or Western.
Others forms of education (ABE (Alternative Basic
Education), IQS (Integrated Quranic Schools), NFE(Non formal Education) can be found as well.
SOMALILAND
The “Somaliland Certificate of Secondary
Education” is issued by the „Somaliland National
Examination and Certification Board“ (SLNECB http://www.slnecb.org/) - earlier called Somaliland
National Examination Board (SLNEB) - after having
passed centralized examinations.
Somaliland has introduced free education at
primary and intermediate levels in 2011, but
implementation was very difficult (e.g. maintenanceof infrastructures without tuition fees, getting
enough teachers when salaries are very low).
The following government reintroduced tuition fees.
Fees of $8 apply at state-run secondary schoolsin Somaliland. Private schools charge more (e.g.
in Hargeisa between $10-25 monthly fees per
child). In 2017/2018 thousands of school children
in Somaliland have been withdrawn from schools
by their parents because state-employed teachers
have been imposing additional fees to bump up
their salaries.
PUNTLAND• Primary school (age 6 – 14): elementary cycle(grade 1 - 4) + intermediate cycle (grade 5 - 8):
Diploma: “Puntland Primary School Leaving
Examination” (PSLE)• Secondary school (age 14 – 18): grade 9 – 12;
Diploma: “Secondary School Certificate”
Overall enrolment at secondary level remains low(14.73% gross enrolmenent ratio).
SOUTH AND CENTRAL SOMALIA (SCS)
Responding to the urgent and growing educationneeds of the country after the civil war, privately
owned education institutions were established andexpanded forming umbrella organizations.

Education umbrella organizations known for
operating or having operated in Somalia are:1. Formal Private Education Network in Somalia(FPENS)
2. School Association for Formal Education (SAFE)
3. School Organization for Formal Education(SOFE)
4. Somali Formal Education Link (SOFEL)
5. Somali Formal Education Network (SOFEN)
6. Formal Education Network for Private Schools(FENPS)
7. Somali Education Development Association(SEDA)
8. Gedo Education Network (GEN)
Depending on the umbrella organization, there still
are two systems of educational systems used inSCS:a) 6-3-3 system (system followed in several 		
Arab countries)• 6 years of elementary school • 3 years of intermediate school; Diploma: 		“Shahaadada Dugsida Dhexe”/ 			“Intermediate School Leaving Certificate”• 3 years of secondary school; Diploma: 		“Shahaadada Dugsiga Sare” / “Secondary 		
School Leaving Certficate”b) 4-4-4- system (system inherited from the 		post-1960 era)
• 4 years of elementary school• 4 years of intermediate school; Diploma: 		
“Intermediate School Certificate”• 4 years of secondary school; Diploma: 		“Secondary School Leaving Certificate”
Each umbrella has its own regulation, policy,
curriculum, academic year, student uniform,
education system and certificate. Curricula can bebased on East-African states (e.g. Kenya, Uganda),
on Arab states (e.g. Sudan, Saudi-Arabia, United
Arab Emirates) or on the old national curriculum
before the civil war.
The language of instruction also depends on
the umbrella organization and on availability of
textbooks. UNESCO has produced textbooks forprimary level (level 1-6), but these books reach
only 10% of the children. Formal Private Education
Network in Somalia (FPENS) produces books in
Arabic language. Some schools use books from the
70’s or 80’s.

Since 2013 there have been campaigns to unify
the Somalia national education curriculum andexaminations in the South and Central Somalia
regions. Progress can be observed – but very
slowly. Newspaper articles state that approximately
20.000-27.000 students now sit for the “Unified
National Secondary School Exams” by the federal
government (http://amisom-au.org/2018/05/
thousands-of-students-sit-for-unified-nationalsecondary-school-exams-in-somalia/), but there
still a great number of students who only participate
in the examinations organized by the umbrellaorganizations.
The largest umbrella organization is “Formal Private
Education Network in Somalia” (FPENS). Overthe past 5 years, most of the secondary school
certificates from Somalia handed in for evaluation
at ENIC NARIC centres were documents issued
by FPENS.
Spotlight on “Formal Private Education
Network in Somalia” (FPENS)
A good overview over the history, the main activities
and the role of FPENS in South and Central Somalia
is given in Valeria Saggiomo’s article “From Charity
to Governance: Islamic NGOs and Education in
Somalia” (published in The Open Area Studies
Journal, 2011, 4, 53-61)
FPENS was founded by 14 Islamic organizationsin 1999 as an umbrella organisation. Over theyears – in absence of a functioning ministry ofeducation – it got an important institutional role inSomali education. The services offered at present
include: curriculum development, the printingof books, the establishment of examinations
and certifications systems, teacher training, andmaintenance of external relations with international
universities.
The number of FPENS schools is about 300 in total,
not only operating in South and Central Somalia,
but also in Puntland and Somaliland, reaching more
120.000 students. (http://fpens.so/en/about/)
Some ENIC NARICs have already successfully
contacted FPENS for authentication of school
certificates. Other umbrella organizations seem to
be more difficult to get in contact with.
Latest newspaper articles from August 2018 state:“Somalia’s education system has been lacking aunified approach for decades. Now, there will be asingle system of four years in lower-primaryschool, four years in upper-primary and four
years in secondary. There will be a new
curriculum. The language of instruction in5

6

primary school will be Somali, while Arabic
and English will be used in secondary school”.
Implementation remains to be seen.

Higher Education
By 1996, local educators started - with the helpof NGOs - initiatives for the growing numberof secondary school graduates seeking higher
education. This led to the establishment of the“Amoud University” in Somaliland as well as the“Mogadishu University”. These were followed
closely by the “East Africa University” in Puntland
as well as the “Hargeisa University” in Somaliland.
Unsurprisingly, Somaliland and Puntland got
a head start in the educational sector due toimproved stability, development and administration.
Between 1997 and 2006, numerous universities
were established in different parts of the country
such as the “Somali Institute for Management
and Administration Development” (SIMAD) andthe “Puntland State University”, both establishedin 1999 and “Benadir University”, Mogadishu
established in 2002 (Eno, 2015).
The most significant growth in the number ofHigher Education Institutions (HEIs) could beobserved in the previous decade. The Heritage
Institute for Policy Study (2013) conducted a study
on the rapid growth of HEIs in Somalia. One of
the conclusions was that 34 out of 44 HEIs had
only been established between 2004 and 2012.
Compared to only one university operational in the
country pre 1991, the growth rate over the past
decade has been exponential.
Even though this growth rate is impressive, it does
not change the fact that most HEIs in the country
have no oversight, no regulation or any sort ofcommonly accepted accreditation system. As oftoday, many of the universities that offer courses do
not have the facilities or necessary infrastructure
to provide education or degrees that satisfy manyof the hiring practices around the world. There isan increasing number of self-declared universities
that offer degrees with little to no academic merit,leading to an increase of people seeking jobs, yetleading them to unemployment (Cassanelli and
Abdikadir, 2008; Brock and Wolhuter, 2014).
SOMALILAND
In Somaliland, the HEI with the highest enrolment
is the “University of Hargeisa” (UoH), with areported enrolment of 4,000 students (The State ofHigher Education in Somalia, 2013).

The establishment of the UoH was feasible throughsupport from Somalis living in Kuwait, Australia, theUnited States, the United Kingdom and Sweden– so by engaging the diaspora worldwide. The
university was founded by Swedish Expats. The
computers were sponsored by Kuwait. Expats in
London (UK) developed the business plan andcurricula. An Internet diasporic forum raised money.
So, the “University of Hargeisa” is a good example
for education from the bottom up so typical for
Somalia.
UoH offers bachelor’s degrees in law (4 years),
medicine (7 years) as well as business (4 years)
and engineering (5 years) (University of Hargeisa,2018). UoH also offers graduate programs (2years) in courses such as international relations
and diplomacy, developmental studies, publichealth and nutrition, ophthalmology etc.
Other than Hargeisa, universities in the region
include “Gollis University” and the “Somaliland
University of Technology” (SUTECH). While“Gollis University” offers bachelor’s degrees indisciplines ranging from law (4 years), engineering(4 years) to medicine (6 years), SUTECH offers
bachelor’s degrees (4 years) mainly in engineering,
technology, business administration andaccounting. “Gollis University” also offers certificate
courses (6 months -1 year) and diploma courses(2 years) in English, information technology, andhealth sciences while SUTECH offers diploma
courses (2 years) in engineering, administration
and accounting as well as vocational courses (6months) (Gollis.edu.so, 2018; Somalilanduniversity.
org, 2018).

As of today, many of theuniversities that offer
courses do not have thefacilities or necessary
infrastructure to provide
education or degrees thatsatisfy many of the hiring
practices around the world.

PUNTLAND
In Puntland, the HEI with the highest enrollment is
the East Africa University (EAU). With an enrolmentof 2.700 students, the university offers bachelor’s
degrees (4 years) in various disciplines including
management, administration and engineering.
(The State of Higher Education in Somalia, 2013).
The University also offers diploma courses (6months - 1.5 years) in fields such as statistics andEnglish (East Africa University, 2018). For master’s
programs EAU has tie-ups with other universities
abroad such as Kenyetta University, Kenya;
University of Science and Technology, Yemen as
well as Universiti Teknikal, Malaysia.
Other universities in Puntland are the “Puntland
State University” (PSU) and the “Universityof Bosaso”. “Puntland State University” offers
bachelor’s degrees (4 years) in subjects suchas information technology, public administration,and business management etc. PSU also offers
undergraduate diploma/associate degree courses(2 years) as well as postgraduate diplomas (1 year)
in development studies and public administration.
Furthermore, PSU also offers master’s degrees inbusiness administration jointly with Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.
The “University of Bosaso” (UOB) meanwhile offers
bachelor’s degrees (3 years) in computer science,business administration and accounting as wellas bachelor’s degrees (4 years) in public healthand education. UoB also offers diploma courses(3 years) in computer science. Furthermore, UoB
offers master’s degrees in English literature,computer science and education in cooperation
with the Sudan Open University.
Puntland also has many community and teachingcolleges like “Garowe Teacher’s Education
College” which offers certificate (6 months-1
year), diploma (1-2 years) and degree courses(2 years) in teaching (Puntland State University,
2018; Universityofbosaso.net, 2018; Gtecsom.com,
2018).
SOUTH AND CENTRAL SOMALIA (SCS)In South and Central Somalia, the HEI with thehighest number of students is the “Mogadishu
University” (MU).
“Mogadishu University (MU)” was founded in
the 90’s by former staff of the “Somali National
University”. The university started with 5 lecturers
in rooms of a secondary school. When these rooms
were destroyed they moved to a hotel. In 2005/06 a

7With an enrolment of
5,240 students, it is theuniversity with the highest
number of students in
Somalia

campus was built in the outskirts of Mogadishu.
With an enrolment of 5.240 students, it is theuniversity with the highest number of students in
Somalia (The State of Higher Education in Somalia,2013). It has campuses in Mogadishu, the capital
city of Somalia, but also a campus in Bosaso, in
Puntland.
MU has now 9 faculties. It offers diplomas (1-2
years) and bachelor’s (3-4 years) degrees indisciplines including information technology,
journalism and media and nursing. MU also offers
post-graduate degrees in education (diploma,
MA and PhD) through the Umu Durman Islamic
University, Sudan as well as master’s degrees inbusiness administration in collaboration with theOpen Malaysia University and the Asian University.
Two other HEIs in the South Central region are“SIMAD”, which offers bachelor’s degrees indisciplines like medicine (6 years), law (4 years),engineering (4 years) and public administration(4 years) and the “University of Somalia” which
offers bachelor’s degrees in medicine (6 years),engineering (3 years), business administration (4years) and accounting (4 years). SIMAD also offers
master’s programs through the Open University
Malaysia (Gtecsom.com, 2018; SIMAD University,
2018).

8
Qualification of lecturers
The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies reportsthat the total number of lecturers across all Somali
universities was at 2501 in 2013. Accordingly,
the total ratio is about 21 students per lecturer.
The number of lectures varies depending on theuniversity. Student-lecturer ratio is a poor indicatorof students experience in various faculties,
because the number of lecturers is not broken
down by faculty.

39% of the total lecturers were reported to havea bachelor’s degree, 50% were reported to havea master’s degree, and the remaining 11% werereported to have a PhD. None of these have beenreportedly involved in any research activities. The
quality of teaching varies greatly depending on theinstitution, as there are no prescribed standards.
There were significant regional differences inregards to lecturers qualifications: universities
located in Somaliland have proportionally fewer
lecturers with PhDs compared to institutions inSouth-Central and Puntland (HIPS, 2013).

Table 1: Number of lecturers in the eight largest institutions
HEI

Students

Lectures

Student/lecturer ratio

Mogadishu University

5240

292

18:1

University of Hargeisa

4000

200

20:1

University of Somalia

3912

134

29:1

Amoud University

3887

212

18:1

SIMAD University

3765

165

23:1

Gollis University

2778

25

111:1

East Africa University

2700

91

30:1

Plasma University for Science & Technology

2693

105

26:1

Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, 2013

Table 2: Distribution of lecturers’ qualifications in the eight largest institutions
HEI

PhD

Master Degree

Bachelor Degree%with PhD

Mogadishu University

46

181

65

13%

University of Hargeisa

3

10

187

10%

University of Somalia

4

86

44

5%

Amoud University

10

146

56

6%

SIMAD University

16

99

50

7%

Gollis University

8

11

6

5%

East Africa University

11

52

28

4%

Plasma University for Science & Technology

15

40

50

10%

Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, 2013

9

Grading System in Higher Education
There is no data on a standardized grading system.
In recent years, various grading systems have
evolved in parallel.
The grading system of the “Benadir University” isjust an example. When evaluating degrees, one
has to check each HEI individually, always keeping

in mind that there is neither an official accreditation
system nor a standardized grading system.
Conclusions on authenticity and the quality of thestudy programs remain difficult and have to be
drawn case by case.

Benadir University Grading System
Range

Grade

LetterPoints1.

Above 95

Excellent with honor

A+

4.5

2.

90 to 94

Excellent

A

4.0

3.

85 to 89

Very good (high)

B+

3.5

4.

80 to 84

Very good

B

3.0

5.

75 to 79

Good (high)

C+

2.5

6.

70 to 74

Good

C

2.0

7.

65 to 64

Pass (high)

D+

1.5

8.

60 to 64

Pass

D

1.0

9.

Less than 60

FailureF

0

TVET
TVET remains largely project driven, with
NGOs providing short training courses to target
beneficiary groups. While some limited centre
based provision does appear to exist, the TVET

Education institutions••••

Mogadishu University: http://mu.edu.so/
University of Hargeisa: http://www.uoh-edu.net/
Golls University: http://gollis.edu.so/
Somaliland University of Technolgy:
https://www.somalilanduniversity.org/

sector remains largely undeveloped, with nosubstantive national qualifications scheme.
TVET, if existing, is rather non-formal.

• East Africa University:
http://eastafricauniversity.net/• Puntland State University:
http://puntlandstateuniversity.com/• University of Bosaso:
http://universityofbosaso.net/

Certification/Documentation samples
We recommend that you contact your national
ENIC-NARIC centre if you have any specificquestions concerning certification anddocumentation samples.

Useful sources and links••

Somali Republic, Ministry of Education, Culture &Higher Education: Report on Education Umbrellasin Somalia and Statistic of schools in 2010-2011:
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/planipolis/files/
ressources/somalia_education_report_2010_2011.pdf
Brock, C. and Wolhuter, C. (2014). Education in East

and Central Africa. 1st ed. Bloomsbury, pp.340-342.
•

Cassanelli, L. and Abdikadir, F. (2008). Somalia:
Education in Transition. DigitalCommons@
Macalester College. Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan/vol7/iss1/7/[Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].

10
•

•

•

Eno, M. (2015). The Revival of Higher Education
in Somalia: Prospects and Challenges. Journal ofSomali Studies, [online] 2(1&2), pp.9-45. Available at:www.researchgate.net/publication/303128807_The_
Revival_of_Higher_Education_in_Somalia [Accessed
8 Oct. 2018].
The State of Higher Education in Somalia. (2013).
[ebook] The Heritage Institute For Policy Studies,pp.1-14. Available at: www.heritageinstitute.
org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/HIPS_Higher_
Education_SOMALI.pdf [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Saggiomo Valeria: The Open Area Studies
Journal, 2011, 4, 53-61: From Charity toGovernance: Islamic NGOs and Education
in Somalia: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/
ed0a/6c066a78dece73207bdcc17e31d7044­­
a4e9d.pdf•

European Asylum Support Office: Country of Origin
Information report South and Central Somalia Country
overview, August 2014: www.easo.europa.eu/sites/
default/files/public/COI-Report-Somalia.pdf•

Norwegian Refugee Council: Accelerated Primary
Education Support Project - Final Evaluation Report:
www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/
main/9686521.pdf•

Puntland State of Somalia - Ministry of Education:
Puntland Education Sector Analysis ‘16: http://
pl.statistics.so/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Puntland_
ESA.pdf•

Puntland State University. (2018). Academics Puntland State University is an Agent of Change.
[online] Available at: http://puntlandstateuniversity.
com/courses/programs/associate-diploma-programs/[Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].

Evaluation tips and recommendations
In general: Paper based verification for Somalia isdifficult /unsure!
It is recommended to ask for all educational
documents, not just Bachelor, but always

secondary school diploma (and intermediate school
diploma - even though only few seem to be able
to deliver both intermediate and secondary school
diploma) and CV of the applicant

REFERENCES
Educational system and institutions:•
East Africa University. (2018). Faculty of Education. [online] Available at: http://eastafricauniversity.net/academics/education/[Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
Gtecsom.com. (2018). Cources & Programs | Garowe Teachers Education College. [online] Available at: http://gtecsom.com/
cources-programs/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
SIMAD University. (2018). SIMAD University - SIMAD University. [online] Available at: https://simad.edu.so/ [Accessed 8 Oct.
2018].
•
Somalilanduniversity.org. (2018). Somaliland University of Technology (SUTECH) - Home. [online] Available at: https://www.
somalilanduniversity.org/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
Uniso.edu.so. (2018). Academics - University of Somalia (UNISO). [online] Available at: https://www.uniso.edu.so/ [Accessed
8 Oct. 2018].
•
University of Hargeisa. (2018). UOH - University of Hargeisa. [online] Available at: http://www.uoh-edu.net/ [Accessed 8 Oct.
2018].
•
Universityofbosaso.net. (2018). Academics – University of Bosaso. [online] Available at:
http://universityofbosaso.net/faculty-of-computer-science/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Other:•
4icu.org. (2018). Gollis University | Ranking & Review. [online] Available at: https://www.4icu.org/reviews/universitiesenglish/15611.html [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
Cia.gov. (2018). The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. [online] Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
Education Policy and Data Center: Somalia - National Education Profile, 2014 Update: https://www.epdc.org/sites/default/
files/documents/EPDC%20NEP_Somalia.pdf•
Radio ergo: Thousands of children drop out of school in Somaliland due to teacher salary ‘buffer’ fees: https://www.
radioergo.org/2018/03/23/thousands-of-children-drop-out-of-school-in-somaliland-due-to-teacher-salary-bufferfees/?lang=en [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
theirworld.org: “Somalia shakes up its education system after years of being wrecked by conflict”.
https://theirworld.org/news/somalia-shakes-up-education-system-schools-after-years-of-conflict[Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
•
Un.org. (2018). UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN SOMALIA I - (UNOSOM I). [online] Available at:www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unosomi.htm [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Please see “Useful sources and links” for additional references.

11

What is REACT?
REACT (Refugees and Recognition – Toolkit 2) is an Erasmus+ supported project, whichaims to establish a more efficient and consistent approach to the recognition of refugees’
qualifications in Europe. The project builds on the recently completed Erasmus+ project«Refugees and Recognition», which developed a toolkit for the recognition of refugees’
qualifications. The project takes place between 2018 and 2020.

Goal
Kick-off seminar
2018

Fact finding seminar for the consortium
5 new refugee country briefings
E-learning modules based on country briefings
Seminar/training for HEIs

Testing of the toolkit at HEIs
2019

In addition to the testing of the toolkit, five refugeecountry briefings will be developed to help with theevaluation of credentials of refugees, displaced
persons and persons in a refugee-like situation.
The country briefings will present a systematised
overview of the educational systems in Iran,
Ethiopia, Somalia, Venezuela and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). The content will also
be presented in webinars held by experienced
credential evaluators.

TIMELINE

Identification of best practice cases
E-learning modules on best practice2020

The overall goal of REACT is to enhance themobility, employability and access to further
studies for refugees, displaced persons andpersons in a refugee-like situation – including those
without official documentation of their educational
background. Through undertaking testing of
the toolkit in cooperation with higher education
institutions from across Europe, the objective
is to identify the needs of the institutions anddevelop best practice cases that illustrate possible
pathways for admission of refugee students tofurther studies.

Final dissemination seminar

Activities
The project is structured around nine work
packages, developed to ensure a knowledgebased approach to the assessment of refugees’
qualifications.

MAIN PROJECT ACTIVITIES• Testing and adaptation of the toolkit, in close
cooperation with higher education institutions
from Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy
and Ireland• Provide recommendations to higher education
institutions and identify best practice cases that
illustrate pathways for admission of refugee
students to further studies• Compilation of e-learning modules presenting
best practice cases on admission of students
with refugees’ qualifications to further studies• Development of five refugee country briefings
on the educational systems in Iran, Ethiopia,
Somalia, Venezuela and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC)• Development of e-learning modules based on
the five refugee country briefings

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
To enable the accessability andtransparency of the project’s work, theresults will be made available on the
project’s website on a continuous basis.
Website:www.nokut.no/en/about-nokut/internationalcooperation/erasmus-projects/react-refugees-and-recognition
Email:
project-react@nokut.no

Drammensveien 288
Postboks 578,1327 Lysaker
Telefon: 21 02 18 00
www.nokut.no

The REACT-project is a cooperation between National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARICs), higher
education institutions and interest organisations working closely with refugees and their educational qualifications.
Co-funded by the
Erasmus+ Programmeof the European Union

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of thecontents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use,which may be made of the information contained therein.