Somalia fights to standardise schools with first new curriculum since civil war began

Primary school students stand in line before entering class at a school that uses a new unified Somali curriculum, at Banadir zone school in Mogadishu, Somalia September 22, 2019. Picture taken September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Every school day, Shuayb Muhidin travels Mogadishu's battle-scarred streets to get to Banadir Zone School. For years, the government has battled Islamist insurgents but now authorities are also turning to a new challenge: schools like Muhudin's.

The start of this school year marks the first time since the civil war broke out in 1991 that the government has issued a new curriculum for primary and secondary school students.