Since the outbreak of war in mid-April 2023, about 19 million students have lost access to schools and universities. While studies have gradually resumed in some areas, they are still suspended in areas with the largest population density, such as Khartoum, Darfur and Al-Jazeera, which have more than 75 percent of schools and universities.
More than half of the government and private schools, universities, institutes and specialized higher colleges in Khartoum and other cities were completely or partially destroyed due to the intense aerial and artillery bombardment.
The spokesman for the Sudanese Teachers Committee, Sami Al-Baqir, described the education situation as “tragic,” noting that the solution lies in an international mechanism that obliges both sides of the fighting to protect civilians and stay away from schools and educational institutions.
Al-Baqer told Sky News Arabia: “Education in emergencies and wars is part of the programs adopted by the United Nations and other international organizations by obligating the warring parties to protect civilians, including school students. However, this option requires the presence of a third party that guarantees the commitment of the warring parties to respect the foundations and principles of international law, most notably staying away from civilian areas and schools.”
Al-Baqir considered the resumption of studies in some states a “violation of the principles of justice and inclusiveness in the educational process, and leads to disastrous consequences,” explaining: “While we fully acknowledge the necessity of continuing education, the policy of fragmenting the educational process and limiting it to specific areas could constitute an entry point for dividing Sudan.”
Education or security?
The decisions to open schools in some areas and not others come in light of the complex security conditions and the dispersion of millions of students in displacement and refugee camps inside and outside the country. However, the Teachers’ Committee said that the decisions to resume studies in light of the current situation “lack adherence to priorities, as they put education before the security and safety of students.”
The committee pointed out that the decisions to resume studies in some areas, such as Omdurman, one of the three capital cities, coincided with a significant increase in the number of deaths due to indiscriminate shelling.
The committee added that “the partial appeal decision ignores the rights of teachers and education workers, estimated at around 350,000,” as only a few of them have received their salaries since the outbreak of the war. It also pointed out that the fate of students who have been scattered in exile is ignored amid ongoing internet and communications outages, and major security difficulties.
On the other hand, the prolonged war and the halt of education in many areas of the country raise great concerns regarding the future of students and their psychological state, as hope fades and frustration increases.
In this context, Ahmed Al-Aboabi, a consultant psychiatrist and assistant professor at Al-Baha University in Saudi Arabia, warns of the serious psychological and social effects that result from students dropping out of school.
There is no hope
Al-Aboabi told Sky News Arabia: “Students suffer from anxiety and depression due to the circumstances that threaten their future and their opportunities for academic and professional development.”
He explained: “The feeling of loss of the future and the lack of hope of returning to school exacerbates the psychological challenges for students, especially those who belong to families suffering from financial hardship and lack of available options that enable them to complete their studies.”
Although a few families succeeded in enrolling their children in schools or universities in neighboring countries, they faced great difficulties in terms of both costs and adapting to the education systems in those countries. Some were forced to sacrifice two or more academic years and start from levels lower than the level they had reached before the war in their original universities or schools in Sudan.
In recent months, some educational institutions have tried to open their headquarters in safe areas, but most of these attempts failed after the fighting expanded to include about 70 percent of the country’s areas, and the lack of a suitable educational environment in the few remaining safe areas.
Some of these institutions have also been severely criticized for imposing exorbitant additional fees, beyond the means of students and their families, in light of the major economic collapse that Sudan is experiencing, and the loss of more than 60 percent of the population’s sources of income.
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