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OO RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
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O 271328Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0494
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0959
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RUZEFAA/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 001601 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EAID KPAO SOCI SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Mogadishu University: Success Amidst Turmoil 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  Mogadishu University, opened in September 1997, stands as a 
tremendous success, even while operating in Mogadishu's tumultuous 
environment.  Despite the violent civil conflict that continues to 
engulf Somalia's capital, the university continues to provide higher 
education to Somalis and has graduated a full class of students each 
year.  In the face of overwhelming obstacles, students continue to 
take classes and move between various campuses to avoid areas of 
conflict.  Women's enrollment has increased substantially, and the 
university continues to develop plans to expand its faculties and 
campuses throughout the country.  End Summary. 
 
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Mogadishu University Remains Open: 
Despite All Odds 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Somali National University, established in 1970, was closed 
permanently in 1990, destroyed by the country's civil war.  Over the 
next seven years, Somali intellectuals and former professors 
attempted to establish a non-state university to ensure the 
possibility of higher education in Somalia.  Because education had 
previously been in the hands of the government, the idea of private 
education and paying for school was new for most people.  At that 
time, amidst ongoing civil conflict, no one in Somalia believed that 
a university could be founded.  Abdurahman Abdullahi, a founding 
member of Mogadishu University, and the current university chairman, 
told us "there was a lack of money and institutions, and the country 
was on fire." 
 
¶3.  Despite all odds, Mogadishu University (MU) opened on 22 
September 1997, in the presence of four founding members and five 
teaching staff.  The first class had 215 students in 3 faculties: 
Education, Law and Sharia, and the Arts and Humanities.  Today, MU 
has expanded to 7 undergraduate faculties: Education; Sharia and 
Law; Arts and Humanities; Economics and Management Sciences; 
Computer Science and Information Technology; Nursing; and Political 
Science and Mass Media, as well as a number of post-graduate 
partnership programs in collaboration with universities in Sudan and 
Malaysia. To date, 6,358 students have enrolled in the university 
since its inception twelve years ago - a tremendous success given 
the country's instability. 
 
¶4.  For its first five years of operation, the university did not 
pursue aggressive external fundraising, with the aim of being 
locally driven and self-sustainable.  MU raised revenue from 
students, NGOs in the Arab world, and donations from Somalis. 
Unused to paying school fees, only 20 of the first class of 215 
students were able to pay their fees at the end of the year.  The 
administration waived fees and offered six different types of 
scholarships to its students.  Today, school fees range between 
$500-$800/year.  Many students still receive university scholarships 
and others receive assistance from relatives in the diaspora.  Over 
70% of students work part-time, generally as primary or secondary 
school teachers.  Children of all of MU's 250 employees are eligible 
for free university education, an incentive created to attract 
qualified candidates, as salaries remain relatively low and 
insecurity in the region is high. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Conflict-Oriented Operating Strategies 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Since its inception, MU has had to confront major security 
challenges.  In the university's first year of operation, a group of 
militia took over university classrooms, claiming the land as their 
own.  In response, the administrators decided to operate fully 
independently of the government and any public spaces.  The 
university founders began renting private rooms, beginning with a 
temporary rental of the Sinah hotel in Yaqshid, on the former "green 
line" that divided the capital.  Two campuses were developed - one 
in the Wardhigley district, and the second outside of the city, 3 km 
from the industrial road by Yaqshid.  The Islamic Development Bank 
offered $400,000 in seed funding to begin the construction of 
university buildings. 
 
¶6.  The university continued operating throughout the war, despite 
escalating instability.  In the late 1990s, insurgents began 
 
NAIROBI 00001601  002 OF 003 
 
 
fighting around the university property, looted several buildings, 
and killed several security guards.  To remain operational during 
the conflict, MU set up temporary campuses around Mogadishu, 
expanding areas where prominent high schools were already operating. 
 These campuses, which continue to operate today, include areas in 
and around Kilometer 4, Bondhere 
(close to Wardhigley), Bulo-Hobey (near the airport), and most 
recently, in Bosasso (Puntland). 
 
¶7.  Over the past year, students have been forced to frequently move 
from one campus to another due to conflict.  The university has 
relied upon a system of mobile phone communication via SMS text 
messages to notify students where their classes will be held. 
According to the Chairman, students have adapted well and "studies 
have been minimally disrupted."  The university successfully 
graduated a full class of students this June.  Although a Somali 
lecturer and a masters student were killed in 2009, neither were 
directly targeted.  According to Professor Abdi Dahir Dirie, advisor 
to the university president, staff and students are not targeted by 
al-Shabaab or the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) because of 
widespread respect for the university and because "everyone's child 
is there, on both sides." 
 
¶8.  Beyond security concerns, MU faces funding challenges.  There is 
a lack of resources to conduct institutional capacity-building, 
training, outreach, or to establish a library and provide adequate 
teaching materials in both English and Arabic. Chairman Abdullahi 
noted the lack of support from international organizations, as 
everyone is focused solely on emergency aid to 
Somalia.  "No one is thinking about creating the leadership of the 
future," he told us.  Professor Dirie said that the university faces 
challenges in maintaining its competitiveness and quality, 
especially in terms of bringing in lecturers who are willing to work 
in Mogadishu. 
 
------------------------------- 
Establishing an American Corner 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  The Somalia Unit has successfully delivered material for and 
established an American Corner at Mogadishu University.  We are in 
the process of working with the university to establish what 
additional materials are required and how we can optimize this vital 
resource for both university and USG goals.  The President of the 
University will be in Nairobi in the coming weeks and we will 
conduct a small ceremony at which we will sign the formal Memorandum 
of Understanding.  In the meantime, our facilitators, including a 
recent International Visitor's Leadership Program alumnus, have set 
up the American Corner and have begun using it as a resource center 
for the students. 
 
------------------------------- 
MU Increases Women's Enrollment 
------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  Since its founding, there has been a concerted effort to 
increase women's enrollment in MU.  In the 1997/1998 class, just 9% 
of the class was female; ten years later the rate more than tripled 
to 31%.  Saida Mohamed Hashi, a 37 year old Mogadishu-born woman, 
was a member of MU's first class, graduating from the Faculty of 
Sharia and Law in 2001.  Out of 31 students in her class, she was 
one of 3 women.  Today, Saida is vice-chairperson for the Justice 
Watch Association (JUWA), a Somali human rights organization.  She 
explained to us, "Without my education at Mogadishu University, I 
would not have arrived to where I am today."  USAID and CARE have 
sponsored 20 female students in the 2008/2009 academic year as part 
of the first cohort of the National Campaign for Young Women 
Leadership Scholarships.  All the women graduated with high academic 
performances. 
 
-------------------- 
Plans for the Future 
-------------------- 
 
¶11.  Mogadishu University's vision for the future includes 
maintaining its headquarters in Mogadishu, operating a branch in 
Bosasso, and opening a new campus in Baidoa.  The University has 
secured land in Baidoa and is planning on expansion in 2011.  The 
Chairman said that MU hopes to establish an engineering faculty, 
medical school, and university hospital.  Classes will resume in the 
first week of September, and, as the Chairman noted, the university 
 
NAIROBI 00001601  003 OF 003 
 
 
will continue to promote its message that "education should continue 
by any means."  We will continue to work with the university, via 
the scholarship program, American Corner, and other collaborative 
initiatives to integrate its faculties, staff and students with 
peace-building and governance efforts. 
 
SLUTZ