One year without education: What next for the children of Sudan?
Today, we mark the one-year anniversary of the ongoing civil war in Sudan. While often overlooked, the war that started on 15th April 2023 aligns with the more prominent, global conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Gaza, and it is worth reminding ourselves that wars have a lasting impact that goes way beyond the immediate time and place of the conflict. Children and their education is one of the areas that suffers most during conflict, and is often a neglected area. We believe education is crucial for societies to move forward and for people to have better lives.
The current attacks on children in Sudan continue unabated, as warring parties flout one of the most basic rules of war: the protection of children. The protracted nature of the conflict today is affecting the futures of entire generations of children. Without access to education, a generation of children living in this conflict will grow up without the skills they need to contribute to their country and economies, exacerbating the already desperate situation for millions of children and their families.
Schoolchildren in Sudan have had to witness and experience unspeakable things as a result of violence, conflict, and insurgency made all the more devastating by the fact that their places of education should be places of safety and security. A child’s right to education cannot be safeguarded in conflict zones without education itself being protected. With an estimated 19 million children out of school for now a year because of war, Sudan is on the verge of becoming “the worst education crisis in the world,” according to U.N. officials. Unfortunately, education is hardly a news item compared to the need for food, health, shelter, and water. This is rightly so, but we know from our experience at Windle Trust International that education can be a lifesaver. This is because out of school, children are easy targets of abuse, exploitation, and recruitment by competing armed forces and groups. Furthermore, it is important to remind ourselves that a gap in education due to conflict will cost future generations the benefits of health, income, equality, and psychological well-being that education provides. This fuels the cycle of poverty.
As of April 2024, the conflict in Sudan has displaced over 8.5 million people, with 6.5 million people internally displaced and close to 2 million refugees in the neighbouring countries, making it the world's largest displacement crisis. We would like to shed light from our experiences of our work in Sudan on how the current conflict has had a major impact on education one year on:
Destruction of school infrastructure
Education is under attack in Sudan, and the conflict is devastating school infrastructure and educational facilities, posing difficulties for student access. The necessary educational infrastructure has become susceptible to exploitation by combatant groups who have occupied education facilities. Schools and educational facilities have been destroyed, looted, or occupied during the current conflict, leaving children with nowhere to turn to for education. Despite international agreements mandating the protection of schools, there are widespread attacks on schools in Sudan by parties to the conflict.
Displacement of students and their teachers
The massive displacement in Sudan caused by the conflict has obviously compelled families to leave their homes, disrupting children’s education due to separation from schools or challenges in attendance. In fact, as of the end of March, UNICEF estimated that 19.5 million children have missed out on education. Ongoing conflict creates an unsafe environment for students and teachers, making it difficult for normal educational activities to take place.
Girls are disproportionately impacted by attacks on schools and education
Despite education being vital in protecting girls from things like child marriage, forced marriage, and domestic violence, girls are often direct targets for violence in the current conflict in Sudan. Girls have experienced the worst of conflict and war, as women and girls are used as tools of war through sexual violence as reported by UN women. It's reported by the World Bank that in conflicts such as this in Sudan, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys and are less likely to return following peace. What’s more is that a 2019 report by UNHCR reveals that refugee girls are half as likely to be in school as refugee boys. With 8.5 million displaced people in and outside Sudan, the impact of this conflict on girls' education is significant.
The Sudan Education Crisis
19 million children out of school
1 in 3 have lost school access
57,000 people reached by Humanitarian Education response
$2.7 billion needed for humanitarian support in 2024
$155.3 million received for humanitarian support in 2024
UNOCHA - 14 April 2024
Children drop out or are pulled out of school
Currently in Sudan, the children who one year ago went to school are now in the market polishing shoes, selling sweets, and providing labour to earn a living. These children’s futures are set back or stopped in their tracks as they are directly impacted by violence or lose access to education. There is a high likelihood of these not children returning to school during peace, and in fact, children exposed to violence are more at risk of under-achieving and dropping out of school as a result. Students who are exposed to violence may experience severe psychological effects that impair their ability to concentrate on studying. Conflict adversely impacts students' performance in exams. It can worsen the learning process by lowering the standard of the school environment. Added to that, it can make the student feel psychologically distressed. Therefore, with extended conflicts, this can contribute to an increase in illiteracy rates due to disrupted education and constrained learning opportunities. In their experiences from elsewhere, UNICEF report that almost 30% of young individuals, totalling 59 million, aged between 15 and 24 in conflict- or disaster-affected countries, are illiterate. Niger, Chad, South Sudan, and Central African Republic are home to the highest illiteracy rates among young people with 76 per cent, 69 per cent, 68 per cent, and 64 per cent of 15- to 24-year-olds, respectively, unable to read or write. This could be avoided in Sudan.
Recruitment of children and youth into the armed groups
Conflict and attacks on education expose children and youth. Reports from the ongoing conflict in Sudan indicate that there are about 10,000 children recruited to fight along with the armed groups according to The New Arab. With no educational opportunities, children are exploited and fight for reasons they do not understand, wasting their lives away.
A call to stop the war for the sake of the children of Sudan
Windle Trust International would like to call on all actors in the Sudan conflict to think about the future of the children and stop the war. Given the difficulties the children of Sudan are facing, the future of Sudan as a country is at stake if the war does not stop. The devastation of the last year will take decades to recover from, and any extended fighting or escalation of the conflict will only make things worse for the children of Sudan. Now, they are sleeping under trees in the cold, going hungry, and missing the one thing that they should be doing: GOING TO SCHOOL. The war MUST stop now to allow the children to go back to school.
What are Windle Trust International doing in Sudan? What can you do to help?
By David Masua, WTI CEO. David was himself a refugee from war-torn South Sudan, supported to complete his education by Windle Trust International. He has now worked to ensure quality education in conflict-affected regions for more than 20 years.