Sudan: Educational disaster threatening future of millions of children
October 6, 2022
191 1 minute read
Students at Umdebekrat Basic School for Boys, recipients of a GPE school grant and textbooks; Nyala South Locality, South Darfur, Sudan The benefits of the GPE School Grant and textbooks Umdebekrat Basic School for Boys Nyala South Locality, South Darfur, Sudan Average class size: 80 (80:1) Interview with Abdirahman Azain, headmaster Items purchased using the School Grant and quotes about the need for those things: Seating for the students: The GPE School Grant has helped us provide seating for the students. This has helped with hygiene for the students who used to have to sit on the floor. Their clothes were getting dirty, they were getting dirty. In terms of resources, this also helped their parents who no longer have to buy as much soap/detergent to wash the children's uniforms every day. But the main thing it has done is to boost the students' morale. They are happier and more comfortable now. Public address system: We have a large number of students. Every morning we get together at the flag ceremony. There are announcements and the students recite poetry, sing songs and perform dramas. Now everyone can hear and understand what is going on. This has also helped to increase the confidence of the students. And because every class has a turn (it rotates day by day), all of the children have a chance to use it. They gain the courage to speak up. And when they are more confident, they do better in school. It also helps us with correct pronunciation in Arabic and English as it has a function where we can record and repeat. Stationery and teaching and learning materials: The visual aids help the teachers and students to understand the information. We also buy some notebooks and pens to keep on hand. This school hosts a lot of children who are IDPs and orphans or others who have little or no income. We don't have excess money to pay for these kinds of things, so the grant has helped us to support those children who cannot afford to buy these things.
Relief organizations have warned that school-age children in Sudan are facing problems related to education, either fully or partially.
Media reports, the latest of which was published by the British newspaper The Guardian, warned of what it called a “serious educational disaster” that an entire generation in Sudan might experience due to children’s absence from school.
The newspaper said that despite the reopening of schools in some states this week after a delay due to the severe floods in Sudan during the past months, millions of children are still unable to go to school and continue their education.
Poverty, the lack of qualified teachers, the Corona pandemic, and low vaccination rates are factors that have contributed to deepening the education crisis in Sudan.
A joint statement by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children (based in Britain) revealed that about 7 million children between the age of 6 and 18, which is equivalent to a third of children of school age, “are no longer enrolled in school at all.”
The statement, issued last September, stated that another 12 million children face problems in education due to the severe lack of sufficient number of teachers, infrastructure and learning environment.
