Somali National University
| Somali National University | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Established | 1954 |
| Type | Public |
| Location | Mogadishu, Banaadir, Somalia |
| Campus | Urban |
| Former names | Gaheyr University |
The Somali National University (SNU; Somali: Jaamacada Ummada Soomaaliyeed) was a national university in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Its campus grounds were located near KM6.
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[edit] History
[edit] General
The Somali National University was established in 1954. Its main university grounds were situated about six kilometers from the city center. Here, during the institution's first thirty years, the main campus was known as Jaamacada Gaheyr or Gaheyr University.[1]
In 1973, under the new revolutionary leadership system of the military government, programs and facilities were expanded. The SNU developed over the next twenty years into an expansive institution of higher learning, with 13 departments and half a dozen outposts dispersed throughout the country.
Under the Somali Revolutionary Government, the Ministry of Higher Learning and Culture established research centers in a number of cities, with the goal of developing the regional economies. These learning centers were aimed at employees from such ministries as the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Livestock and Forestry Management. Skilled and knowledgeable staff graduated from these centres.
In the mid-1970s, the teaching college of Lafoole University (or Lafoole) was made a stand-alone institution with the help of the US Corps. The language of instruction was English.
Due to extensive damage to its facilities as well as the difficulty of holding classes and acquiring books and other necessities in the wake of the civil war in Somalia, classes at the university have been indefinitely suspended.
[edit] Language of instruction
Italian was the Somali National University's primary language of instruction. Mogadishu residents were already familiar with the Italian language, and the university's main campus was situated in the city. The Lafoole Teacher's College was located outside of Mogadishu.
From 1973 onward, Somali and English were introduced as additional languages of instruction. All programs at Lafoole College were taught in English. Across the country, there were programs in Af Soomaali run by the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education, the government ministry responsible for scholastic instruction.
When the Somali linguist Shire Jama Ahmed's modified Latin script was chosen by the Siad Barre administration as the nation's official orthography, Somali language courses began to spring up throughout the country. The language of instruction in primary and secondary schools also became Somali.
[edit] Campuses
The Somali National University had three main campuses: the first campus, Gaheyr, opened in 1954 and was located at KM 6. There were also new expansion buildings across from Gaheyr Campus. The new buildings took some years to complete and were situated on the other side of the Afgoi road, facing Gaheyr.
Most of the new buildings had some sort of circular design to them, and the engineer who designed them was unofficially nicknamed "Engineer O" by the students. The lights from the lamp posts on the Somali National University's campus grounds added to the bright lights of Mogadishu.
The SNU campuses were:
- Gaheyr - Mogadishu at KM6
- Digfeer - Medicine school near Digfeer Hospital in Mogadishu
- Lafoole Teaching College - Lafoole
[edit] Faculties
The fifteen departments of Somali National University were:
- Department of Sharia Law
- Department of Linguistics (Somali, Arabic, English, German and Italian)
- Department of Livestock and Forest Management
- Department of Education (Teaching College at Lafoole), 20 km west of Mogadishu
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Geology and Mining
- Department of Medicine (College of Medicine) near Digfeer Hospital
- Department of Chemical/Industrial Engineering
- Department of History
- Department of Geography
- Department of Science
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Public Health
- Department of Engineering
- Department of Political Science
[edit] Notable alumni
Notable alumni of the Somali National University include:
- Abdirahman Mohamud Farole – President of Puntland
- Abdiweli Mohamed Ali – Prime Minister of Somalia
- Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed – former President of Somalia, President of Puntland and leader in the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, and one of the founders of the Puntland State of Somalia and the Somali Salvation Democratic Front.
- Abdulqawi Yusuf – international lawyer and judge with the International Court of Justice
- Ali Said Faqi – prominent scientist and leading researcher in toxicology
- Hassan Abshir Farah – former Prime Minister of Somalia
- Nur Hassan Hussein – former Prime Minister of Somalia
- Warsame Ali – prominent scientist and co-founder of the Somali Development Foundation
- Asha Jama - Prominent Somali Canadian activist
