Mr. Daud H. Ali Chairman, Hiran Community Education Project

 The Opening of the English School,  Hiran Region, Somalia, Horn of Africa.

The English Proficiency Course

You might have heard the English Proficiency course which I ran since I returned to Beled-Weyne in at the beginning of last April. The course was intensive English language course for adults who already had a significant command of the English language. The students, however, wanted to improve their English. The course was very demanding as it required the students to function in English from the moment they set foot in the classroom. The course focused on five aspects of the English language. These were reading, writing, comprehension, speaking and pronunciation. The latter is always a major problem for all foreign students.

The course consisted of two classes to cater for the different needs of the students. The students were therefore divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 19 students whose English competence was reasonably good. This group was assigned to the Advance class. The second group, whose English competence was far lower than the Advance, was enrolled on the Intermediate class. There were 23 students in this class, making 42 students in total.  Both groups made considerable progress in the short period of three months. Despite three major disruptions stemming from heavy rains, flooding and four days of intense fighting in the Howlwadag district of west Beled-Weyne, 35 students completed the course.

The majority of the students in the Advance group were university graduates in professional jobs such as teaching, engineering and so on. The Intermediate class also included university graduates who worked who had paid jobs as teachers or NGO employees. Many of the students were self employed and had business of their own. The course was very successful and will probably be repeated providing there is at least one more additional teacher in September 2005.

The New English School September 2005

The English School, due to open in Beled-Weyne in September 2005, is ordinary English school for two reasons. Firstly, its medium of instruction is English. Secondly, the school curriculum will be based on the English National Curriculum which is currently used in England and Wales. The textbooks have already been purchased this month. The children will not only be taught the National Curriculum in England and Wales but will also be assessed on the same National Curriculum tests at the end of each academic year. The English School will levy fees higher than the local schools because of the high cost of purchasing expensive textbooks in England and transporting them to Somalia. The wages of the teachers will also be considerably higher than that of the local teachers. All in all, the high standard of the English School will inevitably involve in higher cost and the prospective parents are aware of this fact.

The school will start with two classes in September 2005. The first class will consist of young children aged between 6 and 7 years. The second class will be for secondary age children with some knowledge of English. The school will gradually build up to cater for children up to age of 16 years. It is hoped that the school will eventually attain a standard of education similar to that of Sheik and Amoud secondary schools in former Somaliland from the 1940s to 1960s.

The new school needs the following staff.

 1. Qualified science or Maths. Graduate,
 2. Science or Maths graduate
 3. High school graduate or post A Level student seeking gap year experience

 If you are interested in any of the above positions please contact the Headmaster:

Mr. Daud H. Ali
E Mail address: daudali_1@hotmail.com
Or ring 002521-515787 from mid-Sept.2005  

Headmaster:
Daud H. Ali, Cert. Ed. B.A., M.Ed., Dip. Psych., M.Ed., (Ed. Psych).
Chairman, Hiran Community Education Project,
Birmingham, UK.