Presented to the Organizing Committee of the 2^nd Post-War Reconstruction Strategies Conference in Hargeisa

Hassan Ahmed, AET Manager

The AET's program in Somaliland at present consists of the following projects:

The Somali Educational Incentives for Girls and Young Men (SEIGYM), Women In- Village Education Project (WOVE), Primary Organization and Skill Training (POST) for primary school management and Fort Hare distance Teaching project for civil administration.

This project provides educational vouchers and support to enable disadvantaged girls and young ex-militia men who are unable to benefit from normal schooling to attend special afternoon or evening lessons. The project is different f-from the training programs of other NGOs because AET does not run its own courses for SEIGYM. Instead it pays vouchers "or min-scholarship" to the students to help them follow courses of their choice, namely: literacy and numeracy, small skill training course, computer training etc. This project operates in whole of Somaliland with an exception of Sool region. 4,239 students have already been enrolled in this skill training and literacy scheme. Retention and pass rates are very reasonably good.

The WOVE project is a small skill training and literacy and numeracy intervention targeting girls and young women in rural villages. It is a two-year project planned to be implemented in Hargeisa, Borama and Sahil (Berbea). The project is working now in 31 villages in those regions. Village girls totaling to about I 100 are taking advantage of this rural adult education project at present. About 24 women teachers work for this project as part time teachers in afternoons. The project is in its first year focusing on the functional literacy but in the second year some short-term skill training courses appropriate for village girls will be introduced.

In close co-operation with the Ministry of Education, AET trains primary school head teachers. In a project called "Primary Organization and Skill Training Project, we are aiming at training all primary school head teachers in Somaliland. Ten workshops benefited by 144 consisting of school head masters and educational inspectors have already been conducted in Hargeisa, Gebilay, Borama, Berbera and Burao. Similar workshops are to be conducted in Sanag and Sool this month.

AET has been working with the Institute of Government of Fort Hare University in South Africa to develop a new distance teaching course for training young Somali managers. The plan is to allow a substantial number of young people to gain managerial and administration qualifications while continuing with their jobs.

The course is being written and validated by the Institute of Government of Fort Hare University in South Africa. AET will be responsible for the delivery of course materials to the students and for providing tutorial support, reference materials, a library and study facilities in the evenings at its office.

Through its links wit Book Aid International, AET was able to secure donations of books from Book Aid for Hargeisa and Amoud Universities, secondary schools in Somaliland and Adna Hospital. AET has also established a reading center in its office in Hargeisa for the benefit of secondary school students and anyone interested in reading.