The Sudanese Cabinet has issued an order to reopen universities and resume classes in all states where security conditions allow, according to a letter addressed to the Ministries of Education, Higher Education, and Scientific Research.
The directive, obtained by “Al-Sharq,” sets the end of October as the deadline for the resumption of classes.
In May of this year, UNICEF reported that 368,000 children were forced to leave their homes and schools, with an additional 82,000 fleeing to neighboring countries.
Mandeep O’Brien, the director of UNICEF in Sudan, highlighted the dire educational situation, stating, “Even before the conflict, we already had 7 million out-of-school children of school-going age, between 6 and 18 years old. We had 611,000 children under the age of five suffering from severe malnutrition, and 3 million children under five suffering from malnutrition overall.”
She continued, “Amid this conflict, we witnessed the closure of schools and educational institutions across the country.”
O’Brien emphasized the horrific conditions children face in conflict zones, marked by continuous shelling and gunfire. “We have seen and experienced this firsthand,” she said.
The decision to reopen educational institutions is seen as a positive step towards restoring normalcy and providing educational opportunities to Sudan’s youth, who have endured the consequences of the conflict.
