Sudanese Teachers Warn of the Consequences of Opening Schools and Fear Leaving the Profession
moatinoon
The Sudanese Teachers Committee revealed several challenges facing the educational process after the significant destruction of educational institutions due to the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces. The committees vice president, Qamariya Omar, spoke to ``Citizens`` about the dire situation teachers are living in and the miserable economic situation, while warning against resuming studies before the war is stopped. She pointed out to ``Citizens`` that the decision to open schools only serves a specific segment of Sudanese people, and it will contribute to dividing Sudan.
Alia, a high school student, said angrily to ``Citizens`` that she intended to retake the Sudanese certificate exam this year after resigning from a Sudanese university that accepted her in one of its colleges. However, the war surprised her and deducted a full year from her age, and Alia fears for her future, saying, ``My future and that of my peers has become uncertain.``
Maria Naqd, a high school teacher, spoke about several aspects that affected the educational process and the major challenges faced in resuming studies during and after the war. She told ``Citizens`` that the educational process was significantly negatively affected, whether on ``students or teachers or the school environment``. Naqd explained that closing schools for a long period detracts from students and what they learned in previous years. She added, ``As for us as teachers, of course, it will affect our performance while teaching due to the long interruption of studies.``
Regarding the direct impact of the war on the school environment, Naqd told ``Citizens,`` ``It is known that schools have become crowded due to the displacement, which may have a negative impact on them, as schools have become instead of homes and places of residence.``
She continued, ``Since governments have accustomed us to not fulfilling their responsibility towards education, there will be a significant burden on families by imposing additional fees on students to rebuild schools or repair their damage, from maintenance of bathrooms, classrooms, or bringing in seats, and others.``
Reports and statistics from specialized organizations indicate that about 19 million children in Sudan are currently outside the education system, without safety and psychological support, including 14 million who do not receive basic services for survival. It warned of the exposure of more than three million children under the age of five to the risks of cholera and acute diarrhea, in addition to the suffering of 700,000 from acute malnutrition and are at risk of death.
Kamal Mohammed, a member of the executive office of the Teachers Committee, said that education has been affected in all aspects, whether in terms of ``students or teachers or the school environment or parents.``
In his interview with ``Citizens,`` he added, in addition to the destruction and devastation that affected some schools due to shelling from both sides of the war or the transformation of schools into shelter centers, as well as the displacement and asylum of families and students inside and outside Sudan, in addition to the economic suffering due to the non-payment of salaries. Kamal agrees with most of what Naqd mentioned and the consequences of stopping studies for a long period. He said that this causes problems in the short and long term for both the student and the teacher, especially with the delay of the academic year and the absence of Sudanese certificate exams.
Naqd fears that many students will discontinue their education, especially those who tried to support their families during this war, such as choosing trade and business over education. She adds, ``This is not to mention the behaviors that may have undesirable consequences due to the long break or engaging in activities unsuitable for their ages.``
She continued: ``Or that some teachers may completely abandon the teaching profession, as many of them have taken up other professions due to the economic circumstances and the non-payment of salaries, especially if they have reached the conclusion that the income from another profession is greater than the monthly salary. This will affect education in the country entirely.``
Regarding the decision of the coup authorities to open schools, she said it was unwise and should have been strongly rejected and opposed loudly. She pointed out that the teachers general response to the decision to resume studies was not at the required level.
The discussion continued with Naqd, who justified her rejection of the decision to open schools, saying, ``A student needs a lot of requirements to start their school day, starting with transportation and breakfast and other school commitments, especially at the beginning of the school year, especially in light of the economic conditions that families are suffering from and the deterioration of livelihoods in all states.`` She added, ``Of course, the same is true for teachers.`` She confirmed that the conditions are not conducive to this decision, even if we exclude the psychological aspects that students and teachers are experiencing due to the war.
Naqd spoke about humanitarian aspects, saying that the departure of displaced people from schools during this period, i.e., with the arrival of winter, to other shelters or tents, as reported in some states, is a hardship for them and exposes them to the sun and severe cold.
Naqd concluded that unless the war ends completely, and life gradually returns to normal, it will be difficult to resume studies or rebuild schools, especially in the capital Khartoum, where most schools and educational institutions have been destroyed.
In this context, the vice president of the Sudanese Teachers Committee, Qamariya Omar, spoke about the catastrophic situation they have been living in since the beginning of the war. Omar pointed out in her conversation with ``Citizens`` the miserable economic situation of the teachers due to the non-payment of salaries. She mentioned that they were only paid one months salary, adding, ``Some of them are either refugees or displaced.``
Despite the highly complex and challenging situation, the Sudanese Council of Ministers presidency surprised the Sudanese people by issuing a decision described by observers as ill-considered, to resume studies in schools and universities in October.
Omar told ``Citizens`` regarding the decision to open schools in the states, ``We do not reject the decision as a principle, and we are certainly against the suspension of studies, but the decision is unrealistic even in the states unaffected by the war. Many schools have become shelters for displaced people, and some teachers and their families are either refugees or displaced in neighboring countries, and a significant number are on the list of missing persons. This is in addition to the psychological situation of students and their families.`` Omar condemned that most Sudanese people find it difficult to provide food and shelter, so how can they be expected to attend school, confirming that the decision is unrealistic.
She considered that opening schools in some states without others contributes to dividing Sudan and violates educational values and justice and establishes the idea of ``classist education,`` i.e., education for the affluent only, explaining that this deprives most Sudanese children of education and serves a specific segment of society and private school owners who moved their schools outside the capital Khartoum.
She warned that private schools are increasing, especially in neighboring countries, and this is a serious matter, meaning that most students may take the Sudanese certificate exams abroad, which is an additional burden on Sudanese families who are already burdened.
She added that opening schools in this situation means that the coup authorities want to rid themselves of the responsibility of government schools and teachers. She continued, ``Most teachers have become unable or unwilling to return to schools amid the lack of safety and the miserable economic and social conditions.`` She said, ``Education should not be a tool to fragment the country,`` and stressed the need to stop the war.
