Somalia Introduces Swahili to Strengthen Regional Integration

Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced.

English is used as the language of instruction for most subjects nationwide at secondary schools, with Arabic the only other compulsory second language taught at the moment.

But President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Swahili should also be taught at schools and universities, making the declaration at a summit of the East African Community (EAC) that is taking place in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia officially joined the eight-nation regional trading bloc last year with the intention of boosting economic growth following three decades of war.

With more than 200 million speakers, Swahili is one of the world's 10 most widely spoken languages.

The country's universities, especially the Somali National University, should focus more on developing the Swahili language, which is the language of East Africa, President Mohamud said.

Adopting Swahili is important for our integration into the region, he added.

Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir shared ambitions for Swahili to become a language of communication, trade, and learning, even considering a potential replacement of English in future conferences.

Swahili dialects are already spoken along Somalia's southern coast, and the language has gained traction nationally due to historical ties and recent peacekeeping efforts that have involved East African nations.

The Somali national curriculum now primarily uses Somali for primary schooling, with English reserved for higher education and Arabic taught at Islamic schools, as the country continues to stabilize after years of civil war and instability.