The education project provides assistance to students from over 15 different countries. Information about the home countries of PREP Up students can be found below however if you are interested in learning more about additional countries of origin, please contact us.
Eritrea
- Population: 5.3 million
- Languages: Tigrinya, Tigre, Arabic, English
- Major Religions: Christianity, Islam, Indigenous religions
- Literacy Rate: 68.9%
In the early 2000s Eritrea experienced many education reforms, particularly towards higher education. School is compulsory between the ages of seven and thirteen. Grades 1-5 are taught in one of the local languages while secondary and higher education are taught in English. Students are required to complete their last year (12th grade) at the military training camp in Sawa where they essentially begin their compulsory military service. Students who do not attend this final year, do not graduate and cannot take exams that determine eligibility for advanced education. Students who complete 12th grade and score high on matriculation exams may study a pre-determined subject (dictated by the government) at one of seven colleges. Those who do not pass are subject to compulsory military service for an indefinite amount of time.
Recently, a UN report concluded that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed in Eritrea under the authority of the Government, and that some of these violations may constitute crimes against humanity. Individuals are routinely arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured, disappeared or extrajudicially executed by the government on suspicion of political resistance. The commission also describes how, on the pretext of defending the integrity of the State and ensuring its self-sufficiency, The government subjects civilians to systems of national service and forced labor that effectively abuse, exploit and enslave them for indefinite periods of time.
Recently, a UN report concluded that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed in Eritrea under the authority of the Government, and that some of these violations may constitute crimes against humanity. Individuals are routinely arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured, disappeared or extrajudicially executed by the government on suspicion of political resistance. The commission also describes how, on the pretext of defending the integrity of the State and ensuring its self-sufficiency, The government subjects civilians to systems of national service and forced labor that effectively abuse, exploit and enslave them for indefinite periods of time.
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
An armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two. Since then, peace deals have alternated with renewed violence as the country has slowly edged its way towards a political resolution of the conflict. For more than three decades after independence under the leadership of its first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire was conspicuous for its religious and ethnic harmony and its well-developed economy. Although most of the fighting ended in 2004, Côte d’Ivoire remained tense and divided. French and UN peacekeepers patrolled the buffer zone which separated the north, held by rebels known as the New Forces, and the government-controlled south.
Since the beginning of the civil war the education sector has been the scene of several confrontations involving the government, the rebel movements, teachers, and student organizations. The issues range from education policy to the status and coordination of teachers, access to education, and the organization and administration of exams. While these issues may not seem salient to the conflict at first glance, their analysis reveals a link between them, the history of political struggles in Côte d’Ivoire, and the calculations of and the tactics used by the parties to the conflict. This story of how education has become enmeshed in the conflict’s dynamics is important to understand in order to resolve the conflict.
Sources: BBC Ivory Coast Country Profile, United States Institution of Peace Special Report
Since the beginning of the civil war the education sector has been the scene of several confrontations involving the government, the rebel movements, teachers, and student organizations. The issues range from education policy to the status and coordination of teachers, access to education, and the organization and administration of exams. While these issues may not seem salient to the conflict at first glance, their analysis reveals a link between them, the history of political struggles in Côte d’Ivoire, and the calculations of and the tactics used by the parties to the conflict. This story of how education has become enmeshed in the conflict’s dynamics is important to understand in order to resolve the conflict.
Sources: BBC Ivory Coast Country Profile, United States Institution of Peace Special Report
Somalia
- Population: 10.5 million
- Languages: Somali and Arabic
- Major Religions: Islam
- Literacy Rate: 37.8%
The education system in Somalia was entirely destroyed in 1991 when the central state collapsed. Destruction of the sector went far beyond the deterioration of physical infrastructure. It is estimated that more than 80% of the educated elite left the country in the period since the conflict began. Shortly before the war, Somalia had only one state-owned university located in Mogadishu and enrolling approximately 4000 students (Hoehne, 2010). There are now close to 50 higher education institutions (HEIs) of different sizes and different capacities functioning across the country and enrolling over 50,000 students.
Somalia was without a formal parliament for more than two decades after the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. In 2011, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food. The long-standing absence of authority in the country led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area, and prompted NATO to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation. International efforts were seen to bear fruit in 2012, when pirate attacks dropped sharply. After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognized by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.
Sources: BBC Somalia Country Profile and The Heritage Institution
Somalia was without a formal parliament for more than two decades after the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. In 2011, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food. The long-standing absence of authority in the country led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area, and prompted NATO to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation. International efforts were seen to bear fruit in 2012, when pirate attacks dropped sharply. After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognized by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.
Sources: BBC Somalia Country Profile and The Heritage Institution
Sudan
- Population: 40.2 million
- Languages: Arabic, English, Fur and many others
- Major Religions: Islam
- Literacy Rate: 70.2%
Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war has cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000. In Darfur, in western Sudan, the United Nations has accused pro-government Arab militias of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab locals.
The 1990 Higher Education Act that resulted from the conference deliberations mandated a reform to Sudan’s higher education system. This reform was generally referred to as the higher education revolution, and was designed to Arabicize, Islamize, and expand Sudanese higher education in unprecedented ways. The higher education revolution also wished for expanding the higher education in Sudan to meet the needs of the country’s economic development and to Comparative & International Higher Education 2 (2010) 51 keep up with a growing population. With their current structures and resources, many Sudanese public universities and colleges are in need of profound reforms and improved financial and human resources to function effectively.
Sources: BBC Sudan Country Profile and GVSU Comparative Higher Education Report
The 1990 Higher Education Act that resulted from the conference deliberations mandated a reform to Sudan’s higher education system. This reform was generally referred to as the higher education revolution, and was designed to Arabicize, Islamize, and expand Sudanese higher education in unprecedented ways. The higher education revolution also wished for expanding the higher education in Sudan to meet the needs of the country’s economic development and to Comparative & International Higher Education 2 (2010) 51 keep up with a growing population. With their current structures and resources, many Sudanese public universities and colleges are in need of profound reforms and improved financial and human resources to function effectively.
Sources: BBC Sudan Country Profile and GVSU Comparative Higher Education Report