Monday November 24, 2025
A man walks toward a drought-affected school in a rural village in Somaliland, where classes have halted after families migrated in search of water and pasture. More than 150 schools across Somaliland have shut down due to prolonged drought, disrupting education for tens of thousands of children. Credit: Saleebaan Saxansaxo / BBC Somali Service
Somaliland’s Minister of Education and Higher Studies, Prof. Ismail Duale Yusuf, said the eastern regions of Togdheer, Sahil, Sanaag and Sool have been hardest hit. At least 14,457 students enrolled in primary, intermediate and secondary schools have been directly displaced when their schools closed, while a wider total of 45,000 children have lost consistent access to learning.
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“When drought hits, families move with their livestock, and schools are left empty,” Yusuf said. “The impact has been especially severe in the eastern regions, where schools, teachers, and students have all been affected.”He said 410 schools have been affected, with 260 at risk of closure due to falling attendance, lack of teachers and the collapse of school feeding programs. Some teachers, who are also pastoralists, migrated with their families, leaving classrooms without instructors.
In Qoryaale district in Togdheer region, nine of 16 schools have shut down, according to district education officer Abdullahi Osman Haji Ahmed. He said villages such as Hood, Hayira, Gaadlayaal and Beeli Eeday are now empty after families relocated. At Gaadlayaal school alone, more than 40 students have stopped attending classes.
Parents say the disruptions are long-term. Osman Dirie Gaas, a father of five, said his son, a high school student in War-Cimraan, has been out of school for nearly a month after migrating with livestock. He said four other school-aged children in his family have never been enrolled in school because of constant displacement.
Climate experts link the crisis to increasingly frequent droughts. Dr. Jabir Abdullahi Hussein, a climate specialist at the Global Center on Adaptation, said droughts in Somaliland are becoming more frequent and disruptive due to climate change. “When water and pasture disappear, families have no choice but to migrate — and that removes children from classrooms,” he said.
Education officials say immediate intervention is needed to keep children in school. The ministry plans to provide emergency water deliveries and school feeding assistance to drought-affected learning centers.
“We need to supply food and emergency water to schools in drought-hit regions so children can continue learning and stay healthy,” Yusuf said. He warned that without urgent action, thousands could permanently drop out of school.
Humanitarian groups say school feeding programs have been suspended in many rural areas after funding was cut, worsening the crisis for already vulnerable communities.
Education officials are calling for government and aid agencies to step in quickly to protect access to schooling in Somaliland’s pastoral regions before more children are left behind.
- With files from the BBC Somali Service