Learning has slowly begun to resume in some schools in Tawila locality, approximately 65 km, of North Darfur.
Last Saturday, Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Majeed, the Director of Education Department revealed the institutions in West El Fasher have begun to partially re-open after 8 months of suspension due to the volatile situation in Sudan.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, the officer said the move came after the local community, in consultation with the Civil Authority of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour, agreed that learning should resume.
Abdul Majeed they started with the re-opening of Umm al-Mu’minin and Abu Baker al-Siddiq schools and were able to reopen five others.
Abdel Majeed also nine other schools in Tibra, Dali Deko, Martal, and Kator East of Jebel Marra, have been operating for some time because the areas were not affected by the war.
He appealed to humanitarian aid organizations in the education sector to equip the institutions with learning materials.
Hassan Suleiman Taher, a member of the Supreme Educational Council in Tawila locality, confirmed the partial re-opening of schools after discussions between parents and the civil authority in Tawila locality.
Taher stated that the Civil Authority agreed to provide meals to teachers, while parents committed to contribute SSP1000 each as an incentive to the teachers.
He further appealed to the aid organizations and education partners to work closely with the local community and the civil authority to support the education sector.
In June last year, Tawila locality witnessed battles between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, forcing the majority of the population to flee the area for safety.
However, in August last year, residents voluntarily begun to return to their homes after normalcy resumed. This followed the deployment of forces from the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahed Nour.
Ahmed Mohammed Adam Abdel Rahim, a teacher expressed his joy at the re-opening of the schools. He described the move as an “innocent gesture” from male and female teachers and armed struggle movements.
He said the move was a clear indicator of the return of security and stability in the Tawila locality.