Eight Million Sudanese Children Out of School

More than eight million children in Sudan have been out of school for nearly 500 days as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to the international children’s rights group Save the Children.

The organisation said in a statement on Thursday that “more than 8 million children – nearly half of Sudan’s 17 million school-aged children – have spent about 484 days without entering a classroom.”

Sudan has been locked in conflict since April 2023, following a power struggle between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a crisis that has devastated basic services across the country.

“Sudan is now facing one of the worst education crises in the world,” the British NGO said.

“This is 10% longer than the approximate 440 classroom days lost to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, which was the last country to resume regular face-to-face schooling after COVID. Few modern conflicts have closed schools this long,” it noted.

“Unlike during the pandemic, remote learning is not an option for most children in Sudan, where more than 1,000 days of fighting have disrupted education across the country, shattered families, and destroyed communities.”

“Many schools had been closed, while others had been damaged in the conflict or were being used as shelters for displaced families, leaving children without safe places to learn and millions of children increasingly unlikely to ever complete their studies,” stated Save the Children.

The education crisis is most severe in North Darfur, where only 3% of the more than 1,100 schools are still open.

 West Kordofan, South Darfur, and West Darfur are next, with the fewest schools operating at 15%, 13%, and 27%, respectively, according to data from Sudan’s education cluster, due to be released this week. 

The organisation also added that many teachers have not received salaries for months, severely affecting morale and forcing some to abandon their jobs.

Save the Children warned that without immediate funding to pay and train teachers, restore learning spaces, and provide essential learning supplies, the education system risks total breakdown.

“Education in crisis settings is lifesaving; it protects children from violence, sexual and gender-based abuse, exploitation, and recruitment into armed groups.”  

“If we fail to invest in education today, we risk condemning an entire generation to a future defined by conflict rather than by opportunity,” Inger Ashing, the NGO’s chief executive, said, calling for urgently needed funds to “restore and expand safe and quality educational services, rehabilitate damaged schools, and provide teachers with fair working conditions.”

Children are being recruited in Sudan’s war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to rights groups and video footage from battles.

The UN had said it is concerned about the recruitment of child soldiers and has urged warring sides to end it.