Garowe, Puntland (March 08, 2015)-Somali Family Services in close collaboration with Ministry of Education and Higher Education conducted Basic Education for Pastoralists Communities Project phase II quarterly follow-up and on-job coaching of Community Education Committees(CECs) members of Mohamoud AW Osman and Horseed Primary and Intermediate Schools located in Garowe, Puntland.

The aim of activity was to follow-up the earlier plans developed on school priority needs on access and quality of education. Also to guide them on the best practice to develop school development plans. The schools CECs were shared with project plan to award a mini-grants to two schools with the best proposal/school development plan out of the five schools supported under BEP Phase II Project. This first quarterly follow-up and on-job coaching of CECs on development of plan and activities created a platform for the community Education members to engage with the facilitators on how to develop a viable and competitive school development plan that will emerge top notch amongst other proposals.

The facilitators were drawn from the central and regional level of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoE&HE) and they were: Mr. Mohamed Ismaciil-Finnin,  Director of Formal Education; Mr. Hashi Hussein Farax, Nugal Regional Education Officer And Mr. Omar Gure, Senior supervisor at Nugal REO office among other facilitators drawn from local educational institutions.

During the on-job coaching, CECs members were optimist about proposed mini-grants” Our school has got an enormous challenges ranging from the need for classroom rehabilitation, inadequate desks and majority of students cannot afford nominal school fees thus the SFS on-job coaching on school development plan come at the right time and we promise to develop a water tight proposal for our school” Expressed Hawa saciid, CEC member at Horseed Primary and Intermediate school.

The quarterly follow up and on-job coaching of CECs on school development plan and other activities is one component of the Basic education for pastoralists funded by UNICEF whose objective is to contribute to the fulfilment of the rights of all children (with equal opportunity to girls and disadvantaged groups) in Puntland to quality, inclusive and equitable basic education services. Other components of this project include; strengthening flexi timing and mobile classes for the pastoralists, refresher training for teachers and Community Education Committees (CECs), strengthening and supporting Child- Child clubs and provision of scholastic and educational materials in schools located in Garowe, Dangoroye and Burtinle districts. SFS implements all these activities under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Higher Learning.

In conclusion, The CECs of schools visited expressed in unity to come up an activity plan that will form the bais of school development plan. In addition, Mr. C/wali Hirsi Mire, Chairman of Mohamoud AW Osman was in praise of SFS educational work and shared, “SFS has done a lot in this school in my tenure, for example, it equipped and furnished this head-teacher officer we are sited this morning”.

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For more information, please contact Mohamed Hassan at mohamed.hassan@ussf.org or visit www.ussfs.org.