Half of all Sudanese children not in education due to conflict: aid group

Around half of all school-age children in Sudan, or more than eight million, are out of education due to the country's ongoing conflict, Save the Children said on Thursday, describing the situation as one of the world's worst education crises.

The aid group said Sudanese children have missed about 500 days of schooling since fighting began in April 2023, exceeding the learning losses recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Right now the international community is failing the children of Sudan," Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing said during a video briefing from Stockholm.

Ashing said many schools have been closed or damaged by the conflict, while others have been converted into shelters for displaced families.

In recent days, drone strikes have intensified in and around al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State in central Sudan, with residents reporting significant civilian deaths in at least two incidents.

Aid agencies have also called for urgent humanitarian assistance to reach the Darfur city of Al-Fashir, taken by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in October, and Kadugli, in southern Sudan. Both cities are facing famine conditions.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have fled Al-Fashir following the takeover after an 18-month siege.

Only 3 percent of schools remain open in North Darfur, where fighting continues. West Kordofan, South Darfur, and West Darfur are also heavily affected, the report said.

Save the Children said some teachers have left their jobs after going months without pay.

"Without immediate funding to pay and train teachers, restore learning spaces, and provide essential education supplies, the system risks total collapse," the organisation said.

Education helps protect children from exploitation and recruitment by armed groups, Ashing added, following her visits this month to schools in Port Sudan, River Nile state, and Khartoum.