By Asma Mohamud - Reporter
Somalia, 21 July 2025 – Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre announced that Qur’anic schools have been incorporated into the country’s formal education system and will receive government funding for facilities, teacher training and budgets.
The initiative is intended to improve the quality of institutions where Somali children learn and memorise the Holy Qur’an.
Prime Minister Barre made the announcement during a graduation ceremony held in Mogadishu on Monday. The ceremony marked the graduation of the first master’s degree cohort in Islamic propagation and judiciary studies from the Higher Institute of Da’wah Affairs and Islamic Studies.
The Prime Minister said Qur’anic schools had been brought under the Ministry of Education to enable them to receive official recognition, planning and support similar to that provided to other schools across the country.
“They will receive the same support as other schools. Just as schools are constructed, Qur’anic schools will also be built, and they will be included in the government budget,” Prime Minister Barre said.
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He also announced plans to regulate teachers working in Qur’anic schools, requiring them to have proper training, recognised qualifications and verifiable educational backgrounds.
The Prime Minister said individuals who are untrained, uncertified or whose educational background cannot be verified would no longer be allowed to teach children in Qur’anic schools.
“A teacher who has not received training, does not hold a certificate and has not studied at a recognised institution will not be permitted to teach in a Qur’anic school,” Barre added.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs announced on December 10, 2025, that it had begun a census of Qur’anic schools.
At the time, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali said the exercise was intended to determine the number of Qur’anic schools, assess the condition of their facilities and identify the training and financial support required by their teachers.