Somalia’s government has started plans to renovate and expand one of the country’s oldest schools, the alma mater of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, after an appeal from one of his former classmates went viral. 

Nasru-Din Primary School in Jalalaqsi district, Hiran region, has for nearly six decades offered education to hundreds of Somali children. 

But it now struggles with decaying infrastructure, broken furniture and classrooms at risk of collapse. 

Its dire state prompted the local mayor, Yusuf Nuh Dhurre, to make an emotional appeal for help to the school’s most famous alumna in a video message that has been shared widely on social media. 

President’s response

Both Dhurre and President Mohamud studied at the school in the 1970s. The school was originally known as Jalalaqsi Primary School before a change of name and is considered the first of its kind in the region. 

President Mohamud responded to the appeal promptly: “I saw my former classmate Yusuf Nuh Dhurre calling for the rehabilitation of the school. I hereby order the Minister of Education to include Nasru-Din School in the government’s rehabilitation program.” 

The school’s head teacher Suleiman Sheikh Gabow, who was also the president’s classmate at the school, welcomed the move and stressed the urgency of situation. 

“The facilities are in ruins. If heavy winds or rains come, the classrooms may crumble on the children. We are grateful for the president’s order and we look forward to a safe, well-built school that continues its historic role.” 

The school currently serves more than 700 students, but demand far outstrips its capacity. Local officials have requested for its full rehabilitation and expansion to meet growing needs, including the addition of at least four new classrooms. 

They also hope the project will be the first step towards the establishment of a university in Jalalaqsi area, a long-held dream by the community. 

President Mohamud studied at the school until sixth grade before his family moved to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. He has often spoken of education as a crucial building block of his life. 

‘Education changed my destiny’

“I was raised by my mother in a poor family with only a few livestock. Education changed my destiny. Without it, I would be a herder today. Education is the best tool to fight poverty and empower people,” he once said. 

The renovation of Nasru-Din Primary School comes as part of the president’s broader directive to build 1,000 new classrooms nationwide, with at least 30 new schools in each federal member state. 

He has also ordered families occupying school compounds to vacate, ensuring Somali children have full access to education facilities. 

Jalalaqsi district, once under Al Shabab control, has seen significant progress since its liberation.

In 2022, students from the area took their national school examinations for the first time in three decades, a milestone many residents view as symbolic of the town’s resilience and its academic traditions. 

Somalia’s Minister of Education, Farah Sheikh Abdi Qadir, has met Jalalaqsi Mayor Dhurre and other local officials over the school’s rehabilitation process.