Somaliland: A Good News Education Story

CBS 60 Minutes ran a program on 30 April 2017 titled "Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Founds School in Somaliland" with Anderson Cooper.

American Jonathan Starr, a former hedge fund manager in Boston, decided in 2008 to do something different with his time and money--found the Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland. An American-style boarding school outside Hargeisa, it has been a huge success in spite of numerous obstacles. Nearly 90 percent of the first graduating class was accepted at colleges around the world. Some 40 graduates are now in American universities on academic scholarships. Students are attending, for example, Oberlin, Rochester, Yale, MIT, and Harvard.

If the Trump administration's ban on travel to the United States from Somalia, which includes Somaliland, stands, the next group of graduates may never make it to an American university.

From Somaliland to Harvard

The New York Times published on 12 September 2015 an article titled "From Somaliland to Harvard" by Nicholas Kristof.  With all of the bad news stories involving migration from Africa and the Middle East, it is heartwarming to read a good news story.  This one involves the acceptance of Abdisamad Adan, a graduate of the Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland, to Harvard University. 

Somaliland: Education Success Story

Abaarso School/Wikipedia

The Abaarso School of Science and Technology outside Hargeisa, Somaliland, has done an amazing job of preparing Somali students for some of the leading universities in the United States.

According to its Spring 2013 update, its first graduating class has seven students on their way to the United States, including one to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one to Oberlin and one to Georgetown.

The privately run school expects to send more than half of its first graduating class to well regarded higher education institutions around the world. Hats off to Abaarso School of Science and Technology!!!