Donors express concern over Sudan exam plan amid conflict

December 20, 2024 (OTTAWA) –  International donors have voiced strong concerns over Sudan’s plan to hold national examinations exclusively in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) later this month, citing significant risks to student safety amid the ongoing conflict.

Weeks before the outbreak of war in Sudan in mid-April 2023, more than 570,000 students were preparing to sit for the secondary school exams, equivalent to high school exams and a key requirement for university admission. They remained in limbo for 19 months until the Ministry of Education set December 28th as the date for their commencement. Students from the 2024 cohort will also take the exams in March 2025, and those who could not take the exam are scheduled for later this month. The exams will be held in centres inside and outside the country.

About three weeks before the December 28th date, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) decided to prevent students in areas under their control, especially in Darfur, from going to exam centres in safer cities. This decision has further complicated the already challenging situation for students. In response, the Teachers’ Committee called for a truce and temporary safe passages during the exam period, a move that some observers have criticized as a “politicization” of education and its use as a bargaining chip in the conflict.

In a joint statement released on Friday, the embassies of Canada and Germany to Sudan, along with the British Office Sudan, emphasized the right of every child in Sudan to safe and equitable education. They noted the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Education’s decision to administer exams for the 2022/23 cohort on December 28, 2024, but expressed apprehension about the potential consequences.

“While we commend the Ministry’s efforts to advance education objectives through the scheduled examinations, we express significant concern that this decision could result in the unsafe movement of students across lines of conflict,” the statement read. “This will place their safety and well-being at serious risk.”

The donors highlighted the potential for increased educational disparities, as conducting exams only in SAF-controlled areas could disadvantage children in other parts of the country. They expressed particular alarm over the risks associated with student travel to exam sites, especially given the RSF’s recent restrictions on movement.

“Given that students are already on the move to access examinations in SAF-controlled areas, we urgently call on all parties to the conflict to actively enable and facilitate the safe passage of students for the 28 December 2024 examinations,” the statement urged.

The acting Minister of Education, Ahmed Khalifa, said that arrangements had been completed to conduct the secondary school exams in hundreds of centres in safe states and 46 centres in 15 countries where Sudanese refugees are located. The percentage of students registered for the exams is 75.5% of those who were registered before the start of the war, a stark indicator of the conflict’s disruption to education.

Recognizing that examinations are a recurring necessity, the signatory countries called for a more comprehensive and transparent approach to future exam cycles. They stressed that child safety, especially the heightened risks faced by girls and young people, must be the top priority.

The joint statement underscores the ongoing challenges facing Sudan’s education system amidst the ongoing conflict and the international community’s concerns for the safety and well-being of Sudanese children. The current situation highlights the significant obstacles students face in accessing education due to the conflict and the politicization of the exam process.