Amoud University/Borama (SL Times) - Somaliland’s Amoud University held its first graduation ceremony for 32 students.

27 members of the graduating group were awarded Bachelor of Arts in Business and Public Administration, while the remaining 7 received the same degrees in Education, on Wednesday.

Somaliland's Vice-President Ahmed Yusuf Yassin presided over the graduation ceremony which was also attended by hundreds of other distinguished guests that included the Chairman of the Council of Elders Sheikh Ibrahim Y. Sheikh Madar, leader of Kulmiye opposition party, Ahmed Sillanyo, Ministers, community leaders and educators. A sense of jubilation reigned over the occasion as speakers pointed out one after another the historical importance of the occasion for the resurrection of Education in Somaliland.

Amoud University was officially launched on November 4th, 1998 with 96 students and 3 teachers. About 2/3 of the students never made it to the last year. Most of them went to study abroad. Of the 9 females that enrolled in 1998, only 2 were amongst last Wednesday’s graduates. According to one of the two female graduates Nimo Nour Mohamed, the 7 other girls discontinued their enrollment after getting married to diaspora Somalilanders. All of them were believed to have gone abroad to join their husbands. However Nimo was quick to point out that she was glad to know that almost all her former female student colleagues had been able to resume their higher education at a later stage.

Asked why girls were so disproportionately outnumbered by boys in the first place, she said "Because, after the war, a much higher percentage of women were involved in bread-winning activities than men. So when admissions to Amoud University began, the number of boys who were free of responsibilities for earning household livelihood was enormously higher than that of girls."

Amoud University has currently three faculties: Faculty of Education; Faculty of Business Administration; and Faculty of Medicine which was inaugurated earlier this year.

The credit hour, per semester, forms the basis of awarding a degree at the University. To become eligible for a degree, a student must earn successfully a minimum of 124 credit hours with a GPA of at least 2:00 on a 4 point scale. The academic year commences mid September and continues until mid July. At the end of the current academic year 2002/2003, student enrollment stood at 338 with 33 lecturers. 

The main source of finance for Amoud University comes in the form of contributions from individuals, institutions and the government of Somaliland. A tuition fee of $ 300, per student, per year, is the largest source of revenue for the University.

According to the President of Amoud University, Prof. Suleiman A. Gulaid, there are no plans at this stage to expand the programs currently offered by the university. "We will rather consolidate what we have achieved than seek expansion," he said.

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