Nearly three years of conflict in Sudan have forced more than eight million children out of education for close to 500 days, the NGO Save the Children said on Thursday, warning of one of the longest school closures anywhere in the world.
In a statement, the organisation said that more than eight million children—almost half of Sudan’s 17 million school-aged population—have been unable to attend classes for around 484 days.
Sudan has been engulfed in violence since April 2023, following a power struggle between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The prolonged fighting has devastated the country’s education system, with Save the Children describing the shutdown as among the world’s most severe.
Many schools remain closed, have been damaged by fighting, or are being used as shelters for the more than seven million people displaced nationwide, the NGO said.
North Darfur has been hit hardest, with only three percent of its more than 1,100 schools still operating. In October, the RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the last of Darfur’s five state capitals previously outside its control.
Other severely affected regions include West Darfur, West Kordofan and South Darfur, where just 27 percent, 15 percent and 13 percent of schools are functioning, respectively. Save the Children also noted that many teachers have abandoned their posts due to unpaid salaries.
Without urgent investment in education, the country risks “condemning an entire generation to a future defined by conflict,” said the NGO’s chief executive, Inger Ashing.
The war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. On Sunday, UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk condemned the growing number of attacks on essential civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and markets, and raised alarm over the arming of civilians and the recruitment of children.
The UN has repeatedly warned that Sudan is facing the loss of an entire generation if the education crisis is not urgently addressed.
