11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Access to eduction for children in 2007: only half of school age children attended primary school; disparities among states and gender observed; students expelled from school because they could not pay fees ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23257]

"The government was somewhat committed to children's rights and welfare, but there were great disparities by regions.

While education is compulsory through grade eight, UNICEF reported that only half of school age children attended primary school.

The law provides for free basic education up to grade eight, but students continued to be expelled from class for failing to pay school fees, despite a 2005 government decree prohibiting the practice; nearly all children were charged fees for "school support" or "community contribution."

There were wide educational disparities among states and sometimes between genders, particularly in the eastern and western regions; for example, enrollment was 78 percent in Khartoum State and only 30 percent in the eastern part of the country.

In the north boys and girls generally had equal access to education (enrollments of 50 and 47 percent, respectively), although girls were more affected by early marriage and the fact that many families with restricted income chose to send sons and not daughters to school.

In the urban areas of the south, fewer than 27 percent of primary-school-age children attended school and there was a basic education gender disparity of three boys for each girl."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

School enrolment among IDPs remains low ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23258]

"While school enrollment among IDPs and in nomadic communities remained low, there was an increase in student numbers during the year.

Approximately half of school-age IDPs in Khartoum were enrolled in school.

According to the Sudan Household Health Survey, approximately 750,000 of the 1,750,000 children of primary school age in Darfur were enrolled."

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2008 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Darfur: About 650,000 or half of all children do not receive an education, despite efforts by various organisations to provide schooling in camps and towns, an international NGO said ("Hundreds of thousands of Darfur children not in school") [ID 22526]

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Government restricts academic freedom ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19285]

"The government restricted academic freedom. In public universities, the government appointed the vice chancellors, who were responsible for administering the institutions. The government also determined the curriculum. While many professors lectured and wrote in opposition to the government, they exercised self censorship. Private universities were not subject to direct government control; however, in some cases, professors also exercised self censorship. Nonetheless many university professors in exile returned to the country."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

North: All schools required to teach Islamic education classes ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19399]

"Under the state-mandated curriculum, all schools in the north-- including private schools operated by Christian groups--are required to teach Islamic education classes from preschool through university. Some public schools excused non-Muslims from Islamic education classes, but others did not."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Information on access to education in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19844]

"The government's commitment to children's rights and welfare was uneven. While education was legally compulsory through grade eight, UNICEF reported that only half of school age children attended primary school. The law provides for free basic education, but students have been expelled from class for failing to pay school fees. In August 2005 the government issued a decree prohibiting dismissal of students for nonpayment of school fees. There were wide educational disparities among states and sometimes between genders, particularly in the eastern and western regions; for example, enrollment was 78 percent in Khartoum State and only 30 percent in the eastern part of the country. In the north boys and girls generally had equal access to education (enrollments of 50 and 47 percent, respectively), although girls were more affected by early marriage and the fact that many families with restricted income chose to send sons and not daughters to school. In the urban areas of the south, fewer than 27 percent of primary-school-age children attended school and there was a basic education gender disparity of 3 boys for each girl.

UNICEF reported that educational access for school-age IDP children in Darfur improved compared with the preceding year. UNICEF also reported an increase in nomadic group education. "

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Information on religious education and education by religious groups in Northern and Southern Sudan ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17557]

"Under the state-mandated curriculum, all schools in the North--including private schools operated by Christian groups--are required to teach Islamic education classes from preschool through university. In addition, all classes must be taught in Arabic, although English may be taught as a foreign language. Some public schools excuse non-Muslims from Islamic education classes, but others do not. Private schools must hire a special teacher for teaching Islamic education, although public schools are not required to provide any religious instruction to non-Muslims. The educational system in the South suffered from the effects of the civil war. There were few public schools; most instruction was provided by Christian religious groups, although there were two Islamic colleges. The University of Juba, which relocated to Khartoum during the North-South Civil War, remained in the capital, although a majority of its students came from the South. The Government of National Unity has promised to return the University to Juba in time, although there has been little progress to date."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Although education was legally compulsory, UNICEF reported that only half of school-age children attended primary school ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46041],  [ID 12087]

"The government's commitment to children's rights and welfare was uneven. While education was legally compulsory through grade eight, UNICEF reported that only half of school‑age children attended primary school. The law provides for free basic education, but students have been expelled from class for failing to pay school fees. On August 8, the government issued a decree prohibiting dismissal of students for nonpayment of school fees. There were wide educational disparities among states and sometimes between genders, particularly in the eastern and western regions; for example, enrollment was 78 percent in Khartoum State and only 30 percent in the eastern part of the country. In the North boys and girls generally had equal access to education (enrollments of 50 and 47 percent, respectively), although girls were more affected by early marriage and the fact that many families with restricted income chose to send sons and not daughters to school. In the urban areas of the South, class size reached 120 students, with fewer than 27 percent of primary school age children in basic education and a basic education gender disparity of 3 boys for each girl.

UNICEF reported that educational access for school-age IDP children in Darfur improved considerably compared with the preceding year. UNICEF, supported education for nomadic groups, also reported a significant increase in nomadic group education."

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Sudan has more than 15 universities ("Country Report - October 2003") [#17341],  [ID 12088]

"5.46 The primary language of instruction in the country's primary schools, secondary schools and universities in both the north and south, is Arabic. The Government provides free primary education from the ages of 7 to 12 years. Intermediate education starts at the age of 13 and lasts three years. Students completing secondary education are eligible for university. Secondary education begins at 16 years of age and lasts up to three years. The south remains the most educationally deprived region of the country, with less than one-seventh of the total number of primary schools, despite having one-fourth to one-third of the country's total population.

5.47 Sudan has approximately 18 universities; at least six of which are located in the Khartoum area. These are the University of Khartoum, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Al-Neelain University and Sinnar University, the International University of Africa and the University of Juba. The latter is only temporarily located in Khartoum. The University of Khartoum is the most prestigious institution of higher education in Sudan. Omdurman also has four universities, Omdurman Islamic University, the Holy Quran University, Al Zaiem Al Azhari University and Afhad University for Women, which is privately run. National universities that emphasise scientific and technical training were opened in the 1970s at Wad Madani in the Gezira and at Juba in the southern region"

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

Declining enrolment rate and regional disparity in access to education ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11808],  [ID 12090]

"Education was compulsory through grade eight; however, attendance reportedly was declining and was less than the 1990 level of 61 percent. There were wide disparities among states and some gender disparity especially in the eastern and western regions; for example, enrollment was 78 percent in Khartoum State and only 26 percent in South Darfur State. In the northern part of the country, boys and girls generally had equal access to education (50 percent and 47 percent respectively), although many families with restricted income choose to send sons and not daughters to school. Although there was little data on enrollment rates, it was estimated that the vast majority of the school age children of IDPs were not receiving an education. Nomadic groups also were disadvantaged. Although the gender gap in enrollment between boys and girls was only 3 to 5 percent in favor of the boys, girls were more affected by early withdrawal due to family obligations or early marriage. In the urban areas of the south, primary school age children in basic education were estimated at 68 percent of all boys and 67 percent of all girls. More than 50 percent of university students were women, in part because men were conscripted for war."

Document(s): Open document

19.11.2002 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

The lack of educational facilities deprive thousands of primary school-age children of adequate and appropriate learning opportunities ("OCHA: Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal 2003") [#13809],  [ID 12091]

"The prospect of peace in the Sudan provides an opportunity to address issues concerning the
progressive realisation of the right of all primary school-age children to quality basic education. The lack
of educational facilities due to the widespread destruction of educational infrastructure in conflict-affected
areas, massive displacement of population groups from areas affected by conflict and recurrent drought
and flood combined with inadequate educational facilities for internally displaced children, inability of
parents to meet the cost of educational materials, the discontinuation of schooling by pupils due to illness
and severe malnutrition, unattractive learning environment, teachers without the required qualifications
and the lack of basic amenities like drinking water supply and sanitation facilities in the schools as well as
in the community, and poor quality of instructional processes continue to deprive thousands of primary
school-age children of adequate and appropriate learning opportunities. As a result, the primary
education system in the Sudan continues to be characterised by low enrolment levels, significant gender
gaps and serious regional disparities, unsatisfactory learning achievement of pupils, and low efficiency."

Document(s): Open document

19.11.2002 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Enrolment rate ("OCHA: Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal 2003") [#13809],  [ID 12092]

"There is a dearth of reliable educational statistics. Data available with the Federal Ministry of Education
indicate that the gross enrolment rate for primary cycle of education (6-13 years group) in the GoScontrolled
areas was about 54% in the year 2000/01. In absolute terms, the phenomenon of out-of-school
children, according to the same source, was largest in South Darfur (362,274), West Darfur (278,497),
Gedarif (211,281), South Kordofan (171,921), North Kordofan (171,921) and Blue Nile (112,320). A
survey conducted in SPLM/A-controlled areas showed that of an estimated 1.06 million primary school
age-children (7-14 years), less than 30% of them were enrolled in school in 2001/02.
Enrolment levels vary by gender and in southern parts of Sudan the gender gap is of alarming proportion.
The percentage of girls’ enrolment to total enrolment in GoS-controlled areas was 45.5 in 2000/01
academic session. The percentage of girls to total enrolment ranged from 49.3 in Khartoum to 42.6 in
Gedarif, 40.7 in West Kordofan, 40.0 in South Darfur, and 35.5 in West Darfur. The percentage of girls to
total enrolment in SPLM/A-controlled areas was only 26% in 2000/01. The gross enrolment rate for girls
in SPLM/A-controlled areas was only 16% compared to 37% for boys. Among the regions in southern
Sudan, Bahr El Ghazal has the lowest enrolment of girls (16% of the total enrolment). In Upper Nile, 27%
of pupils are girls while in Equatoria the percentage of girls to total enrolment was 37% in 2001/02. The
girls/boys ratio in the SPLM-controlled areas ranged from 0.41 in grade 1 to 0.26 in grade 8.
Low enrolment levels are a product not only of children never entering school, but also of the cumulative
effect of a high dropout rate at every grade of the primary cycle. The overall dropout rate up to the fifth
grade was 9.7% in 1998/99. Over 30% of children enrolled in grade one dropped out before reaching
grade two in 1999/00. About 50% of pupils do not reach the fifth grade, which is considered the threshold
for sustainable literacy and numeracy. A consistent feature of primary schools throughout southern part of
Sudan was that the vast majority of their pupils were in the lower grade classes. Of all the pupils enrolled
in 2000/2001, 88% were in grades 1-4, and just 12% in grades 5-8. The data from the follow-up
assessments indicated that there was a significant drop out of pupils particularly between Grades 1 and
2. The numbers of pupils in grade 2 were only 57% of those in Grade 1 and the numbers in Grade 3 were
only 40% of those in Grade 2. Due to dropout and repetition, a significant part of the investment in
primary education is wasted."

Document(s): Open document

19.11.2002 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Poor training of teachers and lack of infrastructure ("OCHA: Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal 2003") [#13809],  [ID 12093]

"Available information indicates that the learning achievement of a significant proportion of pupils does not
measure up to the expected levels, indicating that the quality of schooling is inadequate. The
unsatisfactory educational quality is attributed to the poor physical and academic facilities in schools
leading to unattractive learning environment, non-availability of basic learning materials such as textbooks
and shortage of qualified teachers. In GoS-controlled areas, only 12% of the teachers have a basic
Teachers’ Training Certificate and of the remainder, 27% do not even hold a Sudan School Certificate.
Fifty percent of teachers do not have the prescribed qualifications and in many schools the textbook to
pupil ratio is 1:3. In SPLM/A-controlled areas only 7% of teachers have the prescribed qualifications, 48%
have received some in-service training while 45% of the teachers are completely untrained. The textbook
to pupil ratio is about 1:9 in most of the schools and teachers' guides are not available in 78% of the
schools. The issue of medium of instruction for children of returning IDPs and refugees remains a major
concern.
The physical and learning facilities in a majority of schools do little to attract children to attend. A sizeable
number of primary schools are housed in dilapidated structures and are deficient in terms of essential
classroom furniture, water supply and sanitation faci overcrowded. Majority of schools in the war-affected areas is ‘bush schools’ or ‘one-teacher multi-grade
schools’. Around 45% of schools in southern Sudan function in the open, under trees and the percentage
of permanent classroom structure is just 11%. More than half of the schools do not have source of safe
drinking water and almost three quarters of schools are without latrines.lities. Large proportion of classrooms remains"

Document(s): Open document

19.09.2002 - Source: American University of Cairo - Forced Migration and Refugee Studies

IDP camps: education offered by the government is said to have a heavy Islamic bias and tends to be under funded and under resourced ("Report on the Situation of IDPs and Refugees in Northern Sudan: Findings of an exploratory study September 2002 (by Gina Bekker)") [#12484],  [ID 12094]

"4.3 Access to education

Provision is made for primary schools in some of the IDP camps by the government, however
there are no secondary schools in the camps. The education offered by the government is said
to have a heavy Islamic bias and tends to be under funded and under resourced. NGOs, in
particular religious organisations also operate schools in the IDP camps. These schools are
run either by the Churches or the Dawa Islamia, an Islamic Organisation providing religious
based education. In spite of the general availability of primary schooling many children are
not enrolled. This can be attributed to the fact that many parents are not able to afford even
the minimal fees charged and also the fact that older children – some as young as 5 or 6 are
made to care for their siblings, while their mothers search for employment. The school I
visited while in the camp, was funded by the Church. The facilities can only be described as
inadequate. Primary 1 consisted of a reed shelter with only blackboard and no desks or chairs.
The teachers I spoke of complained of inadequate funding, lack of teaching materials and
also of the fact that students often fainted in class because of a lack of food."

Document(s): Open document

01.2002 - Source: US Agency for International Development

USAID Sudan Basic Education Program ("USAID Sudan Basic Education Program") [ID 12095]

"Amidst the conflicts that have engulfed southern Sudan for 19 years families and communities in many areas have managed to establish schools for their children. With support from international NGOs about 1,300 schools have been established. But much more remains to be done to provide education for the vast majority of southern Sudanese children. Currently only about 20-30% of school age children are enrolled in school. Dropout rates are high, especially for girls, as only 12% of pupils continue past grade four. Teachers work primarily on a voluntary basis and international assistance has been mainly in the form of school supplies and emergency teacher training. Despite on-going political and ethnic conflicts, southern Sudanese education administrators see the need to develop more and better schools and have begun to put in place a supportive policy environment for improving education."

Document(s): USAID Sudan Basic Education Program

06.1991 - Source: US Library of Congress

US Library of Congress Country Studies: Sudan - Education ("US Library of Congress Country Studies: Sudan - Education") [ID 12089]

"The public and private education systems inherited by the government after independence were designed more to provide civil servants and professionals to serve the colonial administration than to educate the Sudanese. Moreover, the distribution of facilities, staff, and enrollment was biased in favor of the needs of the administration and a Western curriculum. Schools tended to be clustered in the vicinity of Khartoum and to a lesser extent in other urban areas, although the population was predominantly rural. This concentration was found at all levels but was most marked for those in situations beyond the four-year primary schools where instruction was in the vernacular. The north suffered from shortages of teachers and buildings, but education in the south was even more inadequate. During the condominium, education in the south was left largely to the mission schools, where the level of instruction proved so poor that as early as the mid-1930s the government imposed provincial education supervisors upon the missionaries in return for the government subsidies that they sorely needed. The civil war and the ejection of all foreign missionaries in February 1964 further diminished education opportunities for southern Sudanese. ..."

Document(s): US Library of Congress Country Studies: Sudan - Education