Mogadishu(Mogdishu24)-Somalia’s Ministry of Education launched a Higher Education Management Information System on Saturday, aimed to enhance the storage, monitoring of student information, and maintenance of an educational database. 

The Federal Minister of Education, Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, underscored the importance of implementing a unified management system for all university students across the country.

“It is crucial for our ministry to maintain a comprehensive database of all students and teachers in the country, to facilitate the verification of the validity of our students’ certificate,” said Farah Sheikh, Federal Minister of Education. 

The minister discussed the ministry’s directives for implementing new educational criteria and reforms to strengthen the higher education system. 

He highlighted a foundation program recently directed by the Ministry of Education to provide students seeking university admissions with essential skills and a well-rounded understanding of various disciplines.

“The one-year foundation program will equip our students with the necessary professional skills, raising the quality of our education standards,” the minister added.

This came as reports regarding Nageye Ali Khalif, a lecturer at the Somali National University, who is suspected of defecting to Al-Shabaab emerged amid the government’s intensified efforts against Al-Shabaab sympathizers. 

The security agencies have initiated thorough investigations to substantiate these claims.

Somalia’s Minister of Interior, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, noted that the government is tracking down and fighting several individuals like Nageye who serve as Al-Shabaab spies within the government. 

“It is unfortunate that Nageye was among us, portraying himself as a poet, despite having clear links with Al-Shabaab through his writings. Fortunately, he chose to depart without exploding himself within us,” minister Fiqi said.

“We have several other Al-Shabaab sympathizers, financiers, and even members operating among us. They enjoyed relative freedom during the last government, but now we are actively working to identify and apprehend them,” he added.

The launching of the management information system was attended by representatives from different federal ministries, the Union of National Universities, the National Identification and Registrations Authority, and other senior government officials.