Nomadic populations ‘do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically'.
Education requires stability in most cases; therefore, the issue of nomadic schools and nomadic education can be problematic. This form of education is often not provided fully, yet it is present in countries such as India, Somalia, Algeria, Nepal, Russia, and Afghanistan where nomadic pastoralism is practiced. Education in Somalia, nomadic or not, has suffered for many years – having been without an effective government since 1991.
The Problem
Nomadic children are placed at a severe educational disadvantage the moment they are born into pastoral nomadic families. There are few reasonable opportunities for children who are constantly on the move to have a settled education. As well as this, a formal education system does not benefit nomadic children, due to the nature of the curriculum – the content of the education is not beneficial to a nomadic lifestyle, as well as how education is delivered – typically with tables, chairs, pens, and paper, etc. Furthermore, nomadic children struggle to feel like a part of something, as they are unable to join clubs and do activities for the duration of a term. Unfortunately, without the provision of education, Somalia’s pastoral communities are heavily discriminated against and are unable to stand up for themselves against a settled and literate population. They are taken advantage of and are understandably significantly poorer than most in the country. Somalia’s Education system is heavily flawed, the main issue is the exclusivity of education to urban areas in Somalia. Educational institutions are primarily located in towns and cities – areas where pastoral nomads are rarely situated. If nomadic children and families choose to make use of these facilities, it often results in the complete separation of the child from the family.
A different way of life Pastoral nomads may be seen as unusual and different by settled communities, but this has been their way of life for centuries, and it has proved to be sustainable. For this reason, there are alternative methods of education available, namely the Koranic Schools.
Koranic Schools
In Somalia, these schools are the most permanent form of education currently available for pastoral nomadic children. These schools teach the Koran to children around six days a week and help them to improve their reading and writing skills through the use of the Koran. The most important part of these schools is their mobility. There is no permanent school building, the teaching is funded by donations, and on most occasions, the teacher has the ability to move with his students and set up camp accordingly – which can give the children a sense of belonging – seeing a familiar face is useful for the development of their education. Koranic schools are currently the only viable method of mobile education in Somalia however, the teaching style is not entirely beneficial, due to many of the teachers being badly trained and often having extremely poor reading and writing skills. This can hinder the teaching process greatly and can be unhelpful to nomadic children. '
A brighter future?
Whilst Somalia struggles with high nomadic populations and low rates of education among them, across the continent of Africa, Nigeria is implementing methods that can easily be an inspiration for Somalia. Currently, there is an educational programme called ‘Literacy by radio’ which is invaluable to the nomadic population of Nigeria. As they are continually on the move, radio transmissions consisting of educational messages and teaching are hugely beneficial to the population. These help with educating populations on not only their literacy skills, but also aspects such as the environment, health, and agricultural topics. This helps nomadic populations become more aware of their surroundings and therefore are well equipped to be able to integrate with settled communities if or when they are required to do so. Building on this, there are ideas in place to integrate mobile learning into the nomadic populations in Nigeria. During a global pandemic where globally, students were limited to their mobile phones or computers, there is now, more than ever, an emphasis on the successful nature of online learning. Should pastoral nomadic populations in any country have access to an online form of education, the problems to do with the constant movement of people are rendered irrelevant. With the provision of mobile phones and an internet connection, governments and organisations can help to solve the difficulties of Nomadic education and keep ensure that their populations are able to be prepared for the basic requirements of life.
Bibliography
Dyer, C (2001). 'Nomads and Education for All: Education for Development or Domestication?'. Available at: [1](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3099749?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents)
Jama, M (1993). 'Strategies of nomadic education delivery'. Available at: [2](https://sites.pitt.edu/~ginie/somalia/pdf/nomaded.pdf)
Aderinoye, R Et Al. (2007). 'Integrating mobile learning into nomadic education programmes in Nigeria: Issues and perspectives.' Available at: [3](http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/347/919)
Sawe, B (2019) “Countries where nomadic pastoralism is still a way of life” Available at: [4]