Online School in Somalia: Coming Home Without Changing Exam Boards

By Alfred Ouko, Founder · October 2026 · 10 min read

Many of the Somali families who contact us are moving home. They are returning to Mogadishu from Nairobi, London, Minneapolis, Toronto, Dubai or Jeddah, often with children part-way through a British, American or Cambridge programme. Mogadishu has a growing number of private schools, several teaching Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel courses, and some do excellent work. But places, subject combinations and exam boards do not always match what a child has left behind, and daily travel across the city needs planning. This guide is for those families: what a live online school can carry through the move, where it sits beside local schools, and where it is not the right answer.

Who is coming home, and from where

The returning families are varied. Some have lived in Nairobi for years, many in Eastleigh, and their children have studied in Kenyan schools, some of them on Cambridge programmes. Others are coming from the UK, mid-GCSE or mid-A-Level, or from the United States and Canada, part-way through an American high-school programme. Gulf families arrive from the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar, often from British or American curriculum schools. Many parents are returning to work in government, telecoms, banking, trade, construction or health, or with the UN agencies and NGOs based in Mogadishu. Some households will split their year between Mogadishu and another city for some time. What they share is a child who has already started a programme somewhere else.

The gap, stated fairly

Mogadishu’s private schools have grown quickly, and many teach Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel courses alongside Islamic studies and Somali, which families rightly value. The difficulty is matching. A sixteen-year-old halfway through Edexcel A-Levels in Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics may not find that exact combination, with that board, at the right stage. A child from an American high school may find no American-curriculum option at all. Mid-year arrivals often meet full classes. And for some families the daily journey to school, in parts of the city, takes planning, time and cost they would rather not add to every day. None of this is a criticism of the schools. It is the ordinary friction of moving a child between systems, made sharper by distance.

How a live online school fits

There are two common arrangements. The first is continuity: a child continues the curriculum and exam board they were studying abroad, full-time and live, with subject specialists and every lesson recorded, so the move does not mean a reset. A child arriving from a different system, such as the Kenyan one, joins at the right Cambridge or Edexcel stage after an assessment. The second is supplementary: the child attends a Mogadishu school and takes one or two subjects with us that the school cannot offer, or works toward an examination the school does not enter. Either way, the child keeps Islamic studies, Qur’an and Somali through the school, a dugsi or a teacher at home, because we do not teach those.

The legal side, and who to ask

Somalia does not have a centralised federal rule requiring the registration of children learning online. Education is administered by the federal member states and by the Banadir administration in Mogadishu, and in Somaliland by its own authorities, with the federal Ministry of Education providing broad coordination. Private schools and international curricula operate widely. That is the general picture, not legal advice. Because arrangements differ between administrations and can change, a family planning full-time online study should check with the education authority where they live, particularly if a child may later need a national certificate or want to re-enter a local school. We will tell families what we know, and say plainly where they need to check.

Time zone, examinations and connectivity

Somalia shares East Africa Time with Nairobi, UTC+3, with no daylight saving on either side, so our live timetable simply is the Somali school day. Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel examinations are sat at authorised exam centres, which families book. In Mogadishu, some schools that are authorised centres accept external candidates and some do not; Nairobi is the usual alternative, and many families already travel there. We confirm the centre per family, per session. Internet in Mogadishu and the larger cities is generally good enough for live video, with interruptions, which is one reason every lesson is recorded. Fees are invoiced in US dollars, from USD 423 a month for Primary, and vary by curriculum and level.

When a local school is the better answer

A child settled in a good Mogadishu school, studying a programme that matches their plans, with friends and a routine, probably does not need us full-time, or at all, and I would rather say so. The social life of a school matters, and Somali families rightly value it for their children. Our value is narrower: continuity for a child mid-programme, the subject or exam board a local school cannot offer, one stable school for families who move between cities, and fewer daily journeys where that matters. If none of those applies, the local school is the simpler choice, and it gives a child something online classes cannot: a daily community down the road.

Coming home should not mean starting again. For Somali families returning from Kenya, the UK, North America or the Gulf, a live online school can carry a child’s programme through the move, run beside a Mogadishu school, or follow a family between cities. Where a local school already fits, it is the simpler answer. If your family is somewhere in between, book an assessment and we will look at where your child is now and what comes next.

Frequently asked questions

My child is halfway through IGCSEs in the UK. Can they finish them in Mogadishu?

Yes, and it is the most common case. They continue the same subjects and exam board with us live, and sit the examinations at an authorised centre in Mogadishu or Nairobi, confirmed per session.

Do you teach Islamic studies, Qur’an or Somali?

No. Families keep those through a local school, a dugsi or a teacher at home, alongside our academic timetable.

What time are classes in Somalia?

Somalia and Kenya share East Africa Time, so live classes run in the Somali school day. Every lesson is recorded for days when the connection drops.

Can my child attend a Mogadishu school and study with you too?

Yes. Many families use us after the school day for one or two subjects, or an exam board, that the school does not offer. If you plan full-time online study instead, check first with the education authority where you live.

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