By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Somalia, 14 December 2025 - Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has instructed the Ministry of Education to grant certificates to students who did not sit for the national secondary school examinations in the 2015/2016 academic year.
The Prime Minister made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Prof. Sharif Salah Theatre at the Somali National University, which took place on Sunday night in the capital, Mogadishu.
“Some Somali students did not get the opportunity to sit for the government examination in the 2015/2016 academic year.
“Some of these students are now PhD holders, and it is possible that they are not fully captured in the Ministry’s system and therefore do not possess government certificates. I have instructed the Ministry to grant government certificates to those students who meet the requirements,” Hamza Abdi Barre said.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education, the number of affected students stands at 28,000. The Ministry said these students missed the 2015/2016 national examinations due to circumstances it described as “reasonable and justifiable”. It added that it already has the students’ academic records and that they only need to be entered into the Ministry’s system in order to receive official government certificates.
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The Prime Minister noted that some of the affected students have made significant academic progress, with some currently pursuing or holding PhD-level qualifications, making it unreasonable for them to remain without formal certification.
Hamza stressed that any Somali student who studied diligently, fulfilled the required conditions, but was affected by administrative or systemic challenges should not be denied their educational rights.
“Any Somali student who worked hard, pursued their education, and fulfilled the required conditions—if they were wronged or overlooked—must be given their rights,” he said.
The decision is expected to resolve a long-standing issue that has affected thousands of students whose education was disrupted during a transitional period in Somalia’s national examination system.
