Hiiraan Online
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Istanbul, Turkey (HOL) -- Somalis have always valued education and have travelled far and wide to secure it. Many Somalis in the Diaspora are known to have attended excellent schools and universities all over the world but until recently not very many studied in Turkey. Today thousands of Somali students study in some of the most prestigious Turkish universities in almost all fields that exist today.
Ever since the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Somali capital Mogadishu in August 2011, his country has offered Somali students with the ability to pass an online entrance exam successfully full scholarship to study in higher education institutions in many Turkish cities especially the capital Ankara and the economic beating heart of Turkey, Istanbul. This, according to the Prime Minister Erdogan, was to strengthen ties between the two nations and to support Somali development through the education of its future human capital.
Although the educational scholarship programme initially started with a few hundred students, today the number of Somali students studying in Turkey both sponsored or fee paying is hard to know exactly due to their rapid expansion. At the beginning of the educational partnership between Somalia and the Turkish government there were claims of corruption as students were selected by government officials from both nations. However, this has been made easier by a more meritocratic online examination which any student in Somalia can take.
“After the examination results are analysed the Turkish officials go to Somalia directly and select the successful students themselves after a short interview in most cases,” said Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, the First Secretary at the Somali embassy in Ankara, Turkey. “This has made the whole system transparent and meritocratic.”
The Educational scholarships are available to all Somali students across the Somalia regardless of their region and as such the student body in Turkey is very diverse. The subjects they study are equally as diverse as the students themselves and the only lesson they do have in common is the Turkish language which for most is mandatory.
“I am learning bachelors in International Relations and the Turkish Language at Dogus University in Istanbul and I am enjoying it,” said Mahdi Mohammed Muse who is from Galkacyo in Somalia. ”After graduation I want to work hard to become the future President of Somalia.”
“I am studying my bachelor degree in Business Management and our teachers are so knowledgeable and kind. They give us good guidance and make us feel welcome in class,” said Najib Abdullahi Mohamud who was also sponsored from Galkacyo by the Turkish government. “I want to return home to educate my people as a lecturer but now I feel at home in Turkey.”
Fadumo Mohamud Ali, a nursing student originally from Gardho near Bossasso, is inspired by the hope of taking back her expertise and education to advance maternal health all across Somalia.
“All Somalis are my people and the issue of family planning and maternal health is all over the world. I want to take my skills to my people wherever they are,” she said with a steely determination.
Students from Hargeisa, Mogadishu and other areas in Somalia were met through the Turkish Somali student association and all wanted to just concentrate on their education and avoid the politics back home. For almost all of them, this was the first time they had all left home to study and live abroad.
The Somali students in Turkey are a cohesive group that seemed to have known each other. All kept in contact with themselves and home and family through Facebook and their telephones. The Somali embassy in Ankara is also a place which they all agree they get much support and encouragement to progress in their education.
“There is not so many of us although we are a large number because we do not all study together and we miss each other and our families. But we are here to work and study and to make our life better and our country strong in the future so we must work hard,” said Abdirahman Mohamud, Chair of the Somali student association in Turkey.
HOL English News Desk