Mogadishu — Somalia's education minister has called for a unified national curriculum and stricter controls on teacher qualifications, warning that the federal system has complicated oversight and consistency in the sector.

Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir said the decentralised structure had enabled communities and private actors to expand access to education across the country, particularly in areas long underserved by the state.

But he noted that limited regulation had led to fragmentation, with different institutions adopting their own curricula and examination systems, at times undermining education quality.

"Sometimes it has a negative impact, and sometimes a positive one," he said.

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The minister stressed the need to harmonise core elements of the education system to raise standards nationwide, adding that stronger oversight mechanisms were required.

He also raised concerns about teacher qualifications, saying plans were underway to introduce formal training and a licensing system that would allow only certified educators to teach in schools.

"One of the worrying issues is that anyone can enter a school and be called a teacher without sufficient qualifications... this does not happen elsewhere in the world," he said.

Abdulkadir further highlighted the importance of establishing a national education data system to improve planning and track student progress, noting that higher education remains a federal government responsibility despite the broader decentralisation of the sector.