Somalia, 7 October 2025 — Somalia will introduce the Swahili language into its national school curriculum, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced at the East African Conference (EACON 2025) in Mogadishu on Tuesday.
The move aims to strengthen regional integration and expand Somali proficiency in the language widely spoken across East Africa.
President Mohamud called on Somali universities, particularly the Somali National University, to take a leading role in developing Swahili language education.
“We must institutionalize and advance the Swahili language.” the President stated
He emphasized that Somalia’s recent accession to the East African Community in late 2023 makes it essential to adopt Swahili, drawing a parallel with the country’s earlier adoption of Arabic as a second national language during its membership in the Arab League.
Education Minister Farah Abdulkadir said the new policy is intended to ensure more Somalis speak Swahili, potentially surpassing those who speak English.
“We are working to include the Swahili language in our education system so that more Somalis can speak it—ideally even more than those who speak English,” the Minister said.
The policy aligns with ongoing efforts by EAC leaders to revise the regional treaty and promote Swahili as an official working language across all institutions. While English remains the bloc’s primary official language, Swahili is spoken by over 150 million people in East and Central Africa.
If implemented, the inclusion of Swahili in Somalia’s education system would mark a significant step toward aligning the country’s linguistic and educational policies with those of its regional partners, enhancing cultural exchange, trade, and cooperation across East Africa.