By Zakaria Soohoyde - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 19 October 2026 The Federal Government of Somalia will not recruit new teachers this year, reversing expectations that a new intake would help strengthen the country’s education system.
Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir made the announcement on Sunday while responding to questions from members of the parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs Development. He said the government had planned to recruit additional teachers but was unable to proceed because of financial constraints and the lack of allocated funding.
“This year, we were supposed to recruit new teachers, but our circumstances did not allow it, and the costs were not included in our budget,” the minister said.
He added that the ministry hoped to resume the recruitment process next year.
The minister said Somalia continues to face a significant shortage of teachers, estimating that the country needs approximately 120,000 educators to meet its overall education requirements.
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“Our country needs 120,000 teachers. We must also keep our current circumstances in mind,” he said.
According to the minister, the federal government currently employs more than 6,000 teachers and aims to increase that number to 10,000. However, the target remains far below the estimated national requirement.
The Somali government has previously recruited thousands of teachers to work in different parts of the country. A new recruitment examination had been expected this year as part of efforts to bring additional teachers into the public education system.
However, the minister’s remarks indicate that the planned recruitment will not take place this year, delaying efforts to expand the government’s teaching workforce and address the country’s wider shortage of educators.
The ministry has not announced a specific timetable for the recruitment process to resume next year.