The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has increasingly solidified its grip in Darfur and other parts of the country, has ordered the reopening of schools in El Gazira State starting next week.
Universities and primary and secondary schools across Sudan remain closed a year after the war began, jeopardizing the future of an entire generation. With an estimated 19 million children out of school because of war, Sudan is on the verge of becoming “the worst education crisis in the world,” UN officials say.
Teachers across the country have gone unpaid and young people out of school have been exposed to physical and mental threats, including recruitment into armed groups.
Universities and government educational offices have been destroyed or used as defense positions, and many schools have been turned into emergency shelters for displaced people.
Gen. Abu Aqlah Keikel, the commander of the RSF’s Fourth Division in El Gazira state, said all schools should reopen in Wad Madani and any other prepared localities in the state. During his address to citizens in Al-Eykura village, Gen. Keikal announced incentives for areas that are prepared to reopen schools, indicating that the RSF has awarded the Al-Eykura area a prize for its readiness.
“We will immediately go to open schools in any ready area,” Kekal said, adding that neglecting the education sector jeopardizes to the future of an entire generation.
“We must take care of the students and address all the issues they are facing, whether educational or health-related,” he added.
Reacting to the directive, the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee criticized the step taken by RSF forces in El-Gazira state to reopen schools in these circumstances.
Samy Al-Baqir, the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that the announcement by RSF to reopen schools in El Gazira State is unacceptable, saying it contradicts the principle of inclusivity in the educational process.
He called for keeping education away from conflict so that education does not become one of the tools used in the conflict in Sudan.
“Dealing with education in this fragmented manner would be the gateway to divisions in Sudan, not the other way around. Education was the main pillar of national unity in Sudan,” he said.
“We believe that the basic and correct idea is to deal with education on the principle of inclusivity and justice. We call for the necessity of education in a safe environment, opening up large security spaces for citizens, pupils and students,” he concluded.