Essential Criteria for Measuring Performance of the Universities inSomalia: A Thematic Analysis

Abstract

According to the Ministry of Education, there are 127 registered universities in Somalia. Currently, Somali citizens have access to universities, but the quality performance of the universities is questionable. In 2019, the Somali government has appointed higher education commission to accredit universities that meet the minimum academic standard. In 2021 the commission announced 41 universities passed the preliminary phase of the assessment. Many universities have questioned the approach and the tools used in the assessment. The absence of local context performance measurement partially contributed failure to pass accreditation assessment. Therefore, this study proposes criteria that are coherent and general enough to handle a wide variety of performance measurements. The development of the criteria variables has adapted to the components of day-to-day activities and basic needs for performance assessment for the universities. Thus, universities may not need to adopt other performance assessment criteria such as ISO and MBNQA which functions in a highly rationalized and technical environment.
Objective: The present research aims to provide criteria and sub-criteria better suited to measure the performance of universities in Somalia.
Method: The researcher interviewed academicians (lecturers) and administrative staff (top management) of universities in Somalia to solicit criteria and sub-criteria.
Sample: A total of 30 respondents representing 20 universities were targeted. By professions 12 were administrative and 18 were academicians. Respondents represented universities in Somalia.
Findings: A total of 32 Themes were found from the respondents. Themes were clustered and categorized into 9 main criteria and 23 sub-criteria. The decision for selecting a theme to be main criteria or sub-criteria is based on the frequency of its occurrence during the interviews