The recent controversy surrounding the Sudanese Secondary School Certificate Exam has been solved, the Federal Minister for Education has said.

Minister Mahmoud Sir Al-Khatim Al-Houri said the Secondary School Certificate Examinations had been dogged by uncertainty on dates. The minister did not specify dates for the examinations but slightly hinted that they might be after the fall season.

He was speaking during the Science Day celebrations at the Abu Taleh Theatre in El-Matamma town over the weekend.

The minister said the final communication on the accurate and final school calendars will soon be made to all states. Al-Houri confirmed that the Nile River State is currently planning for basic and intermediate exams for students outside Sudan.

“The River Nile State defies death at the highest price and continues with education,” he said. 

With regard to the Science Day celebrations, the minister said, “At the end, I saw innovations in theatre performances and distinguished school activities.”

A 10-month war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country’s infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside the country.

Nearly all school-aged children in Sudan, an estimated 19 million children, are out of school. Even before the war, Sudan was already facing a significant learning crisis, with many children unable to access quality learning or dropping out of education altogether.

The pressure of the conflict on an already strained school system has left education in Sudan at a breaking point.