Scholarship inquiry

Proposing scholarships for Puntland Students at IGAD Shiekh veterinary College Dear Abdulahi Nur Salad & Abshir Y , Hope all is well in Garowe, I am Ali Mohamed Ali Iye, ISTVS (IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary School) tutor and Research Assistant. I would like to share with you that this regional institution advertised a new course in Dry land Management Economics; it is a four years Bachelors degree in Agriculture and dry land science in which graduates will obtain practical work to promote agricultural productivity and living standards in the dry lands with adequate knowledge and skills to contribute to increased food security and the resilience of communities living in arid and semi-arid lands. In reference to that opportunity the school has received number of applicants from Puntland, but it was unfortunate that most of those students couldnt able to attend the school; others attend but went back to their homes because of the school fees (1015 USD per semester). It is apparent that the cost of the program is not easy for everybody. Few students around receive help from international organizations like FAO after being backed by the local administrations in the areas they came from (Somaliland /Central Government in Mogadishu). As puntlanders in the school (tutors and assistant tutors) we have discussed this matter and what we raise was: 1. 1. Ministry of livestock with collaboration to Ministry of Education has to find a way to help those students. 2. 2. Propose scholarship funds for those students by talking to Organizations like FAO ,DAI and others

3. 3.Find every means to help six students from Puntland to study this program. All these students receive admissions from the institution. 4. Our idea is to just cover the tuition fees plus the study materials and field studies only. Accommodation and meals is not a big deal, hope students can organize themselves and will pay the cost of their living.The cost of the program per student is included in the attached document as well as certification letter justifying the admission offer of the students at college I hope you will back this, it is an urgent matter. We all have to work hard and take best out of this opportunity. Hope you will share this with Minister and the deputy Minster. We keep in touch

Dr.Ali Mohamed Ali Iye Cc: Dr. Abdulkadir Khalif

Introduction and Background information

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region stretches over an area of 5.2 million km2 and a population of over 170 million comprising the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. Despite the Region holding about 26% of sub-Saharan population, it is prone to recurrent hazards such as droughts and floods making it one of the most vulnerable regions on the African continent to climate variability and change. Population growth in this setting is expected to remain high over the next ten years with urban populations growing faster than rural populations. However, despite increasing urbanization, by 2020 over two thirds of the population is still expected to live in rural areas that are dominated by arid and semi-arid areas/drylands. Currently, large proportions of rural populations in the IGAD countries live in poverty. Rural poverty rates range from 42 percent in Uganda to 86.5 percent in Djibouti, against national poverty levels that vary from 38 percent in Uganda to 53 percent in Eritrea. The high poverty levels in the arid and semiarid areas are partly caused by agricultural production systems that are characterized by low in- and output, and hence, low levels of production. Furthermore, production is heavily influenced by climatic variability and severe land degradation that requires urgent interventions to redress this constraint. Despite the low productivity levels within the agricultural sectors of the IGAD countries, it remains the core sector of the member countries economies and societies. It contributes a major share to GDP and employs about three quarters of the population. Consequently, performance of the agricultural sector is the main determinant of year-to-year changes in poverty levels and food security. Within the agricultural sector a large contribution, on average 57 percent, comes from livestock, implying that the livestock sector requires special attention. Livestocks contribution to overall GDP ranges between 10 to 20 percent. IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary School and Reference Centre (ISTVS) is a regional institution located in Sheikh, in the Sahil highlands (Somaliland). Its mission is to build drought sustainable resilient pastoral and agro-pastoral communities through training and research and skills development. Building on its widely popular Makerere University accredited Higher Diplomas in Livestock Sciences; ISTVS is launches a Degree Programme in Dryland Economics and Agro-ecosystem Management (DEAM) in September 2013 accredited by University of Nairobi. The Degree programme is run at ISTVS with 2 years of common basic sciences and a further 2 years of optional disciplines in Dryland agriculture economics, Extension and communication and Land and Water resource Management. This new degree Program was designed to produce manpower that is expected to contribute towards redressing these unique constraints limiting the productivity and ecosystem management within the IGAD drylands. It is conceived taking cognizance of the diverse educational backgrounds of the students emanating from the IGAD region in which Somalia/Puntland is Member of.

The objective of the programme

To produce graduates trained in the discipline of economics and ecosystems management with a good blending of practical work to promote agricultural productivity and living standards in the drylands with adequate knowledge and skills to contribute to increased food security and the resilience of communities living in arid and semi-arid lands by strengthening their ability to cope with environmental and socio-economic change.

Fees of the Course

The program is four years, the cost of four years Bachelors degree in Dry land Economics and agro ecosystem Management (DEAM) including study materials and field trips is shown below: USD 1015 per semester (USD 2130/ year) including tuition, study materials, field trips USD 50 - to register with University of Nairobi, with UoN identity card and registration letter USD 200 per month to cover ISTVS accommodation and meals, this is an optional as the students can make their own accommodation within sheikh town.

Peoples respond to the new Course The new course receives welcome from all IGAD people especially fresh high school graduates from IGAD people. However, many students those previously attend the school and has been called to attend after they have been examined to qualify this course based on their applications and their secondary school leaving examination results. Many students go back home others dont attend after they have been called because they find themselves they cant avoid to pay the course fees. Scholarship Beneficiaries and the Total Cost. It is for above reason why this request was written to inquiry scholarship for six students from Puntland those previously attend the school but unfortunately go back home after complaining about fees. Table 1.1 the cost of the program for six students.
Student Name 1. Ayub Abdi Dahir 2. Bashir Muse Omer Shucayb 3. Abdulahi Bashir Abdinur 4. Abdisalan Farah Mohamed 5. Halima Adam Mohamoud 6. Yacqub Mohamed Ali said Total No of semesters 8 8 8 8 8 8 16 Cost per semester 1015 1015 1015 1015 1015 1015 6090 Total in four years 8120 8120 8120 8120 8120 8120 48720

N.B It is important to remind you that number of students from other regions probably get support from international organizations to study at school.

Certification