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Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and Technology |
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Contents
4. Funding and financing projections
Appendices
This abstract is aimed at bringing to the attention of educators, international organizations and philanthropic personalities and the concerned Somalis, the consequences of twenty yeas of civil war on young people of university and school age in Somaliland. It is in response to these that we have founded the Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) in 1998 as non-profit making institution. The shortage of resources makes the use of innovative methods in education an important issue. We believe the Internet has a tremendous potential in education, and may be the answer to many of our problems. Some of the problems we face include:
We are pleased to have reached an understanding of co-operation with
prestigious higher education institutions in Canada such as:
1. Centennial
College of Applied Arts and Technology
2. Humber College of Applied Arts and
Technology
3. George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology
4. Seneca
College of Applied Arts and Technology
5. Reyerson Polytechnic University
We
have also signed a letter of intent with Free-Ed College who offers Internet
based education programs. All the above institutions are working to contribute
to the establishment and development of Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and
Technology.
We have already acquired a piece of land with an area of 60,000
square meters in Hargeisa to be built at a later stage. However, the College is
going to use a temporary premises during the initial stage and will be opened
soon.
The objectives of the institution are:
At the time of writing this brief, institutions of college in the territory we are targeting are virtually non-existent. Yet there is much demand for higher education. The reasons are lack of resources for establishing traditional education infrastructure and institutions. Such institutions would not be affordable to the large majority of students even if they were built. Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and Technology is to offer a wide range of programs in technology that are accessible and designed to prepare students for jobs in the evolving sectors of the national economy.
3.1 Administration
A senate of seven individuals will run the college of applied arts and technology (CAAT):
The senate will appoint a director for a two-year renewable term, approve the annual budget and the direct major college decisions. The senate will be appointed two years from start of operations.
3.2 Fields of study
The CAAT is dedicated to teaching a broadly based but relevant curriculum to its students. The major subjects of study are:
3.3 Program duration
The college will have two programs: a diploma program and a certificate program
Diploma program.
The duration of the diploma program will be two years after high school. The
program will be targeted at developing professional skills that are relevant to
the market, and the local social conditions. However, the diploma program will
maintain high academic standards for pursuit of higher education elsewhere.
Certificate program
The certificate program is a short program of 3 to 6 months with objective of
teaching basic marketable skills.
3.4 Location
The CAAT is located in the city of Hargesia in Somaliland. Hargeisa is the city of 500,000 people with a number of secondary schools. The city is the political and commercial center of Somaliland, and has very good air and road links with the outside world. We plan to establish faculties in Buroa, Borama, Erigabo and Las Anod at an appropriate date.
3.5 Student population
The Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) proposal is to start with 500 students in the diploma program 200 students in the certificate program. We believe that quality of instruction will not suffer by starting the small number in view of existing resource constraints.
3.6 Staff, teachers and instructors
The CAAT will recruit a suitably qualified staff of teachers and instructors. Indeed, we expect to have a large number of highly qualified men and women to choose from. These teachers will be masters and doctorates alumni who have had teaching experience. We will however encourage the use of computer-based training by the teaching staff.We plan to make the CAAT an independent institution. This means that it will not rely on state funding. The reason for this is twofold:
The education situation in Somaliland is desperate. A prolonged period of civil war and international disdain is making social and economic recovery painfully slow. The absence of education is contributing to the vicious circle of unemployment, poverty and violence. We believe that much can be done to deal with this situation through commitment and the use of innovative education methods. We are particularly excited by the horizons in learning and computer-based training (CBT) opened by the Internet. We have founded the Hargeisa College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) in response to this catastrophic situation. The CAAT is the only institution of its kind in Somaliland. It is also focused on finding a solution to making education accessible to a war ravaged youth and to reduce poverty by increased participation of College graduates in Somaliland economic development. Local self-help and international support are vital factors in our plan to use these innovative methods in the recovery of the education. We are looking to the international organizations and colleges of applied arts and technology for assistance in: