In Puntland, many children of primary school age are out of school.  Primary school enrolment rate stands at 41% (PL 2011/2012 primary school census) and this indicates that 59% of eligible school age children are out of school. This enrolment further indicates enrolment of 44% for girls and 56% for boys with still high proportion of gender disparity and there is a gap between the primary school attendance rates of boys and girls, indicating the preferential treatment of sons in access to education. Pastoralists make high proportion among the disadvantaged group left out by the system.  There has been virtually no or very small scale state delivery of basic social services including education for pastoralist communities. The current infrastructure-focused formal education system promoted mainly in urban areas and along the main roads does not respond to their needs, nor takes into consideration their lifestyle; in particular migration patterns, their specific livestock-based livelihood and their unique cultures.

In response to the situation, Somal Family Services (SFS),  in partnership with and funding from UNICEF, piloted a two years Basic Education for Pastoralists Children Project (BEP) in Puntland  running from 2011/2012 through 2012/2013 academic years. In Puntland the project was implemented in Nugal, Karkar and Sanag Pastoral Regions.

The project adopted and implemented a flexible and Alternative Basic Education (ABE) Approach and curriculum with different delivery modalities or strategies such as:

• Arranging appropriate flexi timing classes for working and out of school children including girls who could not attend schools in the normal learning time
• Integrating Alternative Basic Education with Quranic Studies so that children in Quranic schools were also able to learn basic literacy and numeracy skills
• Linking Alternative Basic Education with mobile satellite centers accompanied with teachers and camel library to support students during migration in extreme mobile/nomadic  communities
• Provision of Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) to enhance quality of education