Factors Responsible for Somali Universities Low Rankings: An Evidence-Based Review

Abstract Different factors affected the educational progress and quality of Somali Universities since the unfortunate civil war in 1988, followed by the collapse of the central state in 1991. The collapse of the central has severely dismantled all public social services in Somalia. As a result, the educational system of Somalia was not spared. Efforts by the local populations and the international community to reestablish the educational system to a pre-conflict level have yet to be sufficient, particularly in higher education. To that end, this paper reveals and documents some factors responsible for the low ranking of Somali universities. Some of these factors include a need for more suitable learning environments and facilities, research and publications, Industry income, international outlook, low percentage of budget allocation to education, etc. The abovementioned factors must be improved significantly to improve the performance and ranking of Somali Universities. One way to improve its performance is to increase government funding to higher education in its annual budget by 20.0%, coupled with increased community and international support.