Burao University

About

The University of Burao UB is a university in Burao, Somalia. It is an independent community-based higher education institution established in 2004 in Burao second best university in Somaliland, the capital city of Togdheer region in Somalia. Six batches graduated from UB until 2016. It has branches in other districts outside of Burao such as Sheikh, Aynabo and Oodweyne. In 2016, the school was selected as member of Association of Arab Universities. It has a bio-gas initiative done by faculty of Veterinary students and web development research done by faculty of ICT students. It has more than 10 faculties and departments.

The University of Burao main campus is located in the northwestern Shacab suburb of Burao, situated about two kilometres from the city center. The site has a fenced area of about 3.75 hectares (9.3 acres), and consists of:

One hall for public lectures, workshops and other events Conference room Classrooms abdalle Area ICT Lab Science LAB Engineering LAB Veterinary LAB Library Printing press Bookshop Office block Laboratories Guest house Sports ground Cafeteria Prayer room (Mosque)

Faculty of Animal Science & Agriculture Faculty of Education Faculty of Business Administration, Public Management and Economics. Faculty of Information Communication Technology Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty of Languages Faculty of Sharia & Law Faculty of Community Development Faculty of Engineering School of Rural Development and Somali Studies Department of Research, Training and Short Courses The first students were registered in September 2004. There are 167 pupils enrolled in four colleges and 430 in a short-term training program designed to upgrade the skills of the primary teachers in the region. The university has a board of trustees responsible to the Togdheer Development Committee, and a president who is accountable to the board of trustees and who is in charge of the day-to-day affairs of the university.

Livestock is the backbone of the nation's economy. About 50-60% of the population are classified as pastoralists, and another 20% as agro-pastoralists. The 1997 official government statistics estimates total livestock population in the country at around 23.5 million heads. Yet there are only about three dozen qualified veterinarians in the whole country, which means a doctor/stock ratio of about 1: 653,000, and there are no training institutions (apart from a middle level technical institute recently opened in Sheikh), or research facilities to support this vital sector. The aim of the department is to prepare professionals in the field of animal health and husbandry and to carry out research.

According to the Ministry of Education statistics 106,480 students are enrolled in both public and private schools in the Scholastic Year 2003/4. The number of teachers serving is 2,590, out of which only 241 have university degrees. This means a teacher/student ratio of 1:41, and a graduate teacher/student ratio of only1:442. Both ratios are extremely low. The reason why there is such a small number of graduate teachers is that the only college, Lafoole (Somali National University) which trained teachers has been closed for the past 13 years due to the civil war.

The college carries out business research, provides technical support to the business community, and organizes business seminars and conferences and exhibitions

There are no proper institutions of higher education for training and accreditation for pre-primary Qur'anic school teachers, nor for Islamic teachers in primary and secondary schools, nor for the imams who provide spiritual guidance to congregations in Mosques, nor for the judges who sit on Islamic Courts, which is part of the judicial system. The aim of the Islamic college is to:

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.