Education Cost

Government Revenue from Education Service Fees

Full-year revenue collected by the Federal Government from fees classified as Education Services Fees.

Year Education service-fee revenue
2024 Approximately $230,000
2025 Approximately $360,000

Key finding: Revenue from education service fees increased by 55.3%, with approximately $130,000 more collected in 2025

Source: Federal Ministry of Finance, 2024 and 2025 End-Year Budget Performance Reports
SRA publication date: 21/09/2026

Monthly School Fees Average monthly school fees by education level, measured in US dollars.

Education Level Monthly Fee
Grades 1–4 $12
Grades 5–8 $15
Forms 1–4 $20

Key finding: Monthly fees increase with education level.  Forms 1–4 cost $8 more per month than Grades 1–4.  Source: Somali Researchers Association (SRA)

Cost of School Textbooks by Grade

Cost of a complete set of school textbooks for one student, measured in US dollars.

Grade Level Textbook Cost
Grades 1–2 $12
Grades 3–4 $14
Grades 5–7 $16
Grade 8 $20
Forms 1–4 (Secondary) $30

Key finding: A secondary-school textbook set costs 2.5 times more than a textbook set for Grades 1–2.  Source: Somali Researchers Association (SRA) Date: Not stated on the original card

Most Expensive University Degree Programmes in Somalia

The five university degree programmes with the highest reported tuition costs in Somalia.

Rank Degree Programme Tuition Cost
1 Medicine and Surgery $18,900
2 Aviation $8,160
3 Dentistry $6,840
4 Engineering $6,000
5 Information Technology $4,500

Key finding: Medicine and Surgery is the most expensive programme, costing more than four times as much as Information Technology.

Source: Somali Researchers Association (SRA) Date: May 2026

Education Document Verification Costs in Somalia

Comparison of the cost of obtaining a secondary-school certificate and an authentication stamp.

Education Document Service Responsible Institution Cost
Secondary-school certificate Ministry of Finance $5
Authentication stamp (Tasdi sameyn) Ministry of Foreign Affairs $20

Key finding: The authentication stamp costs four times more than processing the secondary-school certificate.

Source: SRA: Date: Not stated on the original card

Secondary-School Examination Candidates in Somalia

Number of students who sat the secondary-school examinations in 2025 and 2026.

Administration 2025 2026 Increase
Six Federal Member States 38,471 44,136 5,665
Puntland 8,413 9,153 740
Somaliland 15,696 16,123 427
Total 62,580 69,412 6,832

Key finding: The total number of examination candidates increased by 6,832 students, equivalent to approximately 10.9%.

Source: Ministries of Education of Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland
Date printed on card: 28 July 2026

Primary-School Textbook Prices by City

Cost of a complete Grade 4 textbook set for one student, measured in US dollars.

City Textbook Set Price
Nairobi $42
Addis Ababa $17
Mogadishu $14

Key finding: Mogadishu has the lowest textbook price. A Grade 4 textbook set in Nairobi costs three times more than in Mogadishu.

Source: Somali Researchers Association (SRA)
Date: 20 July 2026

Grade 8 Girls’ Examination Performance in Banadir

Changes in girls’ participation and pass rates between the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic years.

Indicator 2024/2025 2025/2026 Change
Girls who sat the examination 18,646 21,508 +2,862
Girls as a percentage of all candidates 45.4% 46.5% +1.1 percentage points
Girls who passed 17,433 20,666 +3,233
Girls’ pass rate 93.5% 96.1% +2.6 percentage points

Key finding: More girls participated in the Grade 8 examination, while their pass rate increased from 93.5% to 96.1%.

Source: BRA
Date:  21 July 2026

The 10% Education Cohort Gap in Banadir

Comparison of students who sat the Grade 8 examination in 2021/2022 with those who reached the Form 4 examination in 2025/2026.

Examination Stage Academic Year Students
Grade 8 examination 2021/2022 26,860
Form 4 examination 2025/2026 24,173
Students not reflected in the later cohort — 2,687 (10%)

Key finding: Approximately 2,687 fewer students, or 10% of the original cohort, reached the Form 4 examination four years later.

Source: SRA Banadir Education Cohort Report (2021–2026)
Date: 16 August 2026

Form 4 Pass Rates Under the Farmaajo Administration

National Form 4 examination pass rates from 2017 to 2021.

Year Pass Rate
2017 84.2%
2018 78.0%
2019 76.4%
2020 74.6%
2021 86.7%

Key finding: The five-year average pass rate was approximately 80%. The lowest rate was 74.6% in 2020, followed by a strong recovery to 86.7% in 2021.

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE)
Date: 17 August 2026

Form 4 Pass Rates Under the Hassan Sheikh Administration

National Form 4 examination pass rates from 2022 to 2026.

Year Pass Rate
2022 96.6%
2023 92.4%
2024 93.4%
2025 93.8%
2026 93.0%

Key finding: The five-year average pass rate was approximately 93.8%, and the annual rate remained above 92% throughout the period.

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE)
Date: 18 August 2026

Form 4 National Examination Overview

Comparison of students planned to sit, attending and missing the 2026 Form 4 national examination.

Examination Status Students Percentage
Planned candidates 44,330 100%
Attended 43,028 97.1%
Absent 1,302 2.9%

Key finding: Nearly 97% of the planned candidates attended, while 1,302 students were absent.

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE)
Date: 20 August 2026

Annual Instructional Hours for Secondary Students

Allocated annual learning hours for secondary-school students in selected East African countries.

Country Instructional Hours per Year
Somalia 1,134 hours
Djibouti 1,056 hours
Ethiopia 1,024 hours

Key finding: Somalia allocates the most instructional time—78 more hours than Djibouti and 110 more hours than Ethiopia each year.

Source: Ministry of Education
Date: 26 August 2026

Primary-School Completion in Somalia

Estimated share of children who complete primary education in Somalia.

Indicator Estimated Completion
Children completing primary school Fewer than 20%
Simplified presentation About 2 in 10 children

Key finding: Only about 2 in every 10 children in Somalia complete primary school. This is a primary-school completion estimate and should not be interpreted only as a dropout rate.

Source: UNESCO, Education Finance Watch 2024
Date printed on card: 16 September 2026