By Hassan Adan

Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has congratulated Maxamed Ciise Daahir Yuusuf, who emerged as the country’s top-performing student in the 2025/2026 National Secondary School Certificate Examination with a score of 94.14%.

A total of 44,136 students sat this year’s federal national secondary examination across 58 districts and 158 examination centres, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education.

The number of candidates increased by more than 5,000 from the previous academic year, reflecting the expansion of access to secondary education and the national examination system

Mohamed Ciise Dahir , a student at Hawl-Wadaag School in the Banadir region, was ranked first nationally after scoring 94.14%, according to the Ministry’s announcement.

Prime Minister Barre personally contacted the leading students and their families to congratulate them on their performance, praising their effort as well as the contribution of parents, teachers and the wider education community.

Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Bare congratulated the best students.

Prime Minister Hamze also announced that the Federal Government would cover the university education costs of the three highest-performing students, giving the students an opportunity to continue their studies without the financial burden of tuition.

The other two students among the top three were Farxiya Faarax Cumar Cigaal, of Ahmed Bin Hambal School in Kismayo, Jubaland, and Amino Khaalid Cabdalla Ahmed, of Imaamu Shaafici School in Banadir.

The results mark another milestone in Somalia’s effort to rebuild a centralized education and assessment system after decades in which schools operated under different curricula, examination systems and educational standards.

The Federal Government began administering centralized national Form Four examinations in 2015, when about 3,400 students sat the first nationwide federal examination. By 2016, the number had risen sharply, with more than 20,000 candidates taking the centralized examination.

The system has expanded substantially since then. In 2018, about 32,000 secondary students from the Federal Member States and Banadir sat the centralized Form Four examinations, with the European Union describing the continued increase in candidates as a sign of growing demand for a credible national examination system.
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Somalia’s first National Curriculum Framework was developed in 2014, following years of fragmentation in which more than 40 different curricula were reportedly being used across the country.

The framework was subsequently developed and endorsed, with a draft syllabus piloted in selected schools in 2017.

The national curriculum framework was formally endorsed in 2017, while the new curriculum and unified education structure began rolling out in the 2017/2018 academic year.

In August 2018, Somalia introduced the new 4-4-4 education structure, consisting of four years of lower primary, four years of upper primary and four years of secondary education.

The curriculum reform was designed to replace the fragmented education landscape that had developed during and after the civil war, when schools frequently used different textbooks, syllabuses and languages of instruction.

The new framework established common national standards and introduced government-approved learning materials.

Puntland maintains a separate examination system

The federal national examination system does not currently cover Puntland.

Puntland maintains its own examination authority and conducts separate certificate examinations for students in the regional administration.

In May 2026, Puntland launched its 2025/2026 certificate examinations, with 25,221 candidates taking Grade 8 and Grade 12 examinations.

Of those, 9,153 were Grade 12 students, taking their Form Four-equivalent secondary school leaving examination at 63 examination centres.

Another 16,068 Grade 8 students sat their examinations at 98 centres, bringing the total number of Puntland candidates at both levels to 25,221.

Puntland’s examination authority began developing a centralized system within Puntland before the federal government’s nationwide examination programme, including a centralized examination for private schools in 2010 and a single secondary-school leaving examination in 2012.

The Federal Government’s 2026 Form Four results cover students in Banadir and the participating Federal Member States, Puntland students are assessed through Puntland’s own examination system.

This year’s federal examination was conducted from June 20 to June 25, after Prime Minister Barre officially launched the process in Mogadishu.

The government expanded examination access to areas where students previously had to travel to other towns, including Ceelasha Biyaha in Lower Shabelle and Godinlabe in Galmudug.

Banadir accounted for the largest share of candidates, with nearly 24,000 students, followed by South West State with 7,584, Hirshabelle with 4,134, Galmudug with 3,617 and Jubaland with 2,831.

The North East region( Formerly SSC-Khaatumo) reported about 1,700 candidates.