Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Education Systems of Africa pp 1–27Cite as

Educational System Obstruction Consequence in the Political Volatility

Comparative Assessments Somalia and Djibouti

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 94 Accesses

Part of the book series: Global Education Systems ((GES))

Abstract

Before the arrival of the Eurocentric education system to Africa, the Horn of Africa had a vibrant education pattern designed to cultivate religious and societal norms. With the arrival of the colonizers, the education system was significantly interrupted and replaced by British, French, and Italian education system in a fragmented manner. However, internal rivalry and geopolitics could not allow any colonial attempt to sync European education systems into society. As a result, the Indigenous system aborted, and Eurocentric education systems have not succeeded in shaping the nations as required. Besides, the Horn of Africa was and still is the most volatile sub-region because of its geopolitics and historical controversies over the colonial boundaries. The Djibouti and Somalia are among the Horn of Africa countries that are affected by the disruption of education systems. This paper argues that lack of epistemological transformation traditional knowledge system created a gap in governance, cultural, and religious tolerance in the sub-region. This article tries to assess the historical education development analyses both in Djibouti and Somalia. The assessment is predominantly interested in how the interruption of the education system escalates the volatility and lack of peace in the region and, in particular, in Somalia. The government policy direction and how impediment occurred. Furthermore, this paper aims at elaborating how collaborative language and education policy is vital in harmonizing political and economic unification, trade, and economic development. The paper employed a qualitative research method and comparative assessment to explore the educational policy gap in both countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Abdallah, A. A. (2008). State building, independence and post-conflict reconstruction in Djibouti. Post-conflict peace-building in the horn of Africa, pp. 269–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abdi, A. A. (1998). Education in Somalia: History, destruction, and calls for reconstruction. Comparative Education, 34(3), 327–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abdi, A. A. (2005). African philosophies of education: Counter-colonial criticisms. In Issues in African education (pp. 25–41). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Abdinoor, A. (2008). Community assumes the role of state in education in stateless Somalia. International Education, 37(2), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adam, H. M. (1995). Islam and politics in Somalia. Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(2), 189–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • African development fund 2004: republic of Djibouti basic and secondary education strengthening project (education project iii) evaluation report. ONSD pp. 2–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agbiji, O. M., & Swart, I. (2015). Religion and social transformation in Africa: A critical and appreciative perspective. Scriptura, 114, 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bassi, M. (2003). Synthesis of lessons learned. Enhancing equity in the relationship between protected areas and local communities in the context of global change: Horn of Africa and Kenya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borowicz, J., 2017. Strategic location and Neopatrimonialism in Djibouti (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brass, J. N. (2008). Djibouti’s unusual resource curse. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 46(4), 523–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunyi, G. (1999). Rethinking the place of African indigenous languages in African education. International Journal of Educational Development, 19(4–5), 337–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassanelli, L., & Abdikadir, F. S. (2008). Somalia: Education in transition. Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, 7(1), 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, W. K., & Van Tonningen, L. R. (2003) Somalia education sector assessment: With special attention to Northwest Zone. Basic Education and Policy Support (BEPS) Activity, US Agency for International Development report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dei, G. S. (2012). Indigenous anti-colonial knowledge as ‘heritage knowledge’for promoting Black/African education in diasporic contexts. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deneulin, S., & Rakodi, C. (2011). Revisiting religion: Development studies thirty years on. World Development, 39(1), 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diop, C. A. (1989) The African origin of civilization: Myth or reality. Chicago Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Djibouti Government Portal. (2020). https://www.presidence.dj/

  • Dudzik, D., Ramanathan, V., & Morgan, B. (2007). The great debate affecting English policies and curricular reforms in multilingual, postcolonial Djibouti. TESOL Quarterly, 41(3), 591–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, S. R. (1998). Craft guilds, apprenticeship, and technological change in preindustrial Europe. The Journal of Economic History, 58(3), 684–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ezedike, E. U. (2019). Multi-culturalism in education: A critical assessment of the impact of colonization and globalization on indigenous Africa values. AFRREV IJAH: An International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 8(2), 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, A. (1997). Education, globalization and the nation state. In Education, globalization and the nation state (pp. 130–186). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Green, A. (2003). Education, globalisation and the role of comparative research. London Review of Education, 1(2), 83–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groen, S. (2009). Recognizing cultural identity in mental health care: Rethinking the cultural formulation of a Somali patient. Transcultural Psychiatry, 46(3), 451–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammersmith, J. A. (2007). Converging indigenous and western knowledge systems: Implications for tertiary education (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa).

    Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook, A., & Barker, R. (1998). The historical investigation of other than formal education: A comparative framework. Critical Studies in Education, 39(1), 81–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huillery, E. (2009). History matters: The long-term impact of colonial public investments in French West Africa. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(2), 176–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibhawoh, B., & Dibua, J. I. (2003). Deconstructing Ujamaa: The legacy of Julius Nyerere in the quest for social and economic development in Africa. African Journal of Political Science, 8(1), 59–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalonde, A. (1991, September). African indigenous knowledge and its relevance to environment and development activities. In Winnipeg, Manitoba: The common property conference on Sept (pp. 26–29).

    Google Scholar 

  • Major, T., & Mulvihill, T. M. (2009). Julius Nyerere (1922–1999), an African philosopher, re-envisions teacher education to escape colonialism. New Proposals: Journal of Marxism and Interdisciplinary Inquiry, 3(1), 15–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1978). The structure of educational organizations. In Schools and society: A sociological approach to education (pp. 217–225). London: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mkutu, K. (2001). Pastoralism and conflict in the Horn of Africa. London: Saferworld. Organisation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulugeta, K. (2010). The role of regional and international organizations in resolving the Somali conflict: The case of IGAD. Addis Ababa: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nsamenang, A. B. (2005). Educational development and knowledge flow: Local and global forces in human development in Africa. Higher Education Policy, 18(3), 275–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyamnjoh, F. B. (2012). ‘Potted plants in greenhouses’: A critical reflection on the resilience of colonial education in Africa. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 47(2), 129–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plan, E. S. S. (2017). Federal government of Somalia ministry of education, culture and higher education. Somalia, Mogadishu: Ministry of Education, (pp 1–179).

    Google Scholar 

  • PRSP (2009) Poverty reduction strategy paper, Djibouti, IMF country report no. 09/203. National Initiative for Social Development (INDS). Strategic Framework, pp. 4–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putman, D. B., & Noor, M. C. (1993) The Somalis: Their history and culture (CAL Refugee Fact Sheet series, no. 9).

    Google Scholar 

  • Qader, S., Lefebvre, V., Ninneman, A., Himelein, K., Pape, U., Bengtsson, L., Tatem, A., & Bird, T. (2019). A novel approach to the automatic designation of predefined census enumeration areas and population sampling frames: A case study in Somalia. The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shehim, K., & Searing, J. (1980). Djibouti and the question of Afar nationalism. African Affairs, 79(315), 209–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shizha, E. (2005). Reclaiming our memories: The education dilemma in postcolonial African school curricula. In Issues in African education (pp. 65–83). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shizha, E. (2013). Reclaiming our indigenous voices: The problem with postcolonial Sub-Saharan African school curriculum (pp. 1–18).

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, L. R. (2004). Anticolonial strategies for the recovery and maintenance of indigenous knowledge. American Indian Quarterly, 373–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tikly, L. (2001). Globalisation and education in the postcolonial world: Towards a conceptual framework. Comparative Education, 37(2), 151–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsehaye, R. S. (2014). Djibouti: Formal and non-formal education. Education in East and Central Africa, 16, 157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waydande, D. (2019). The history of education and therefore the literary development. Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, 21(10), 1536–1540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. H., & Cummings, W. C. (2015). Education from the bottom up: UNICEF’s education programme in Somalia. International Peacekeeping, 22(4), 419–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woldegiorgis, E. T., & Doevenspeck, M. (2013). The changing role of higher education in Africa: “A historical reflection”. Higher Education Studies, 3(6), 35–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woolman, D. C. (2001). Educational reconstruction and post-colonial curriculum development: A comparative study of four African countries. International Education Journal, 2(5), 27–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Work, M. N. (1916). The passing tradition and the African civilization. The Journal of Negro History, 1(1), 34–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yasin, Y.M., 2011. Regional dynamics of inter-ethnic conflicts in the horn of Africa: An analysis of the Afar-Somali conflict in Ethiopia and Djibouti. Somalia, Mogadishu: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yirga, G. (2010). Assessment of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in Central Zone of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. African Journal of Plant Science, 4(1), 6–11.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Political Science Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

    T. K. Seife

Authors
  1. T. K. Seife
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Kolawole Samuel Adeyemo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Seife, T.K. (2020). Educational System Obstruction Consequence in the Political Volatility. In: Adeyemo, K.S. (eds) The Education Systems of Africa. Global Education Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43042-9_31-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43042-9_31-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-43042-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-43042-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation