Launch of the United to Restore Learning Initiative in Sudan

Moatinoon
UNESCO, the Global Partnership for Education, and members of the Sudan Local Education Cluster launched the Transitional Education Plan 2025-2027 in a virtual event held on 21 August 2025, presenting it as a roadmap for protecting the right to education and rebuilding learning opportunities in the midst of one of the worlds most complex humanitarian crises.

The launch event was attended by over 600 participants from Sudan and around the world, including teachers, learners, civil society representatives, donors, and education partners. Speakers included Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education; Laura Frigenti, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education; and representatives from the Geneva International Centre for Education in Emergencies, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Office for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, Save the Children, and Sudanese civil society.

The head of the Teachers Committee in Kassala State, Sayed Tumbah, emphasized that the Sudanese Central Teachers Committee is an integral part of the roadmap to protect the right to education. He told Citizens that the Teachers Committee strongly supports the goals of this initiative to rebuild the education infrastructure due to the extensive destruction of educational institutions.

He added that there are key issues that must be addressed in addition to reconstruction, namely educational curricula, the provision of the educational environment, and the inputs to the educational process itself. He also emphasized efforts to address poverty and the payment of long-standing salaries and financial arrears to teachers. Tumbah cited the situation of teachers in Kassala State as an example.

According to UNESCO, the plan was developed under the leadership of the Sudan Local Education Cluster, coordinated by UNESCO as chair, and funded by the Global Partnership for Education. More than 34 national and international partners contributed, working closely with the Sudan Education Cluster, which leads the humanitarian response to education. This coordination between humanitarian and development actors ensures that urgent education needs are met while laying the foundations for a stronger and more resilient system in the long term.

Education is life-saving. The Transitional Education Plan is a joint plan to restore education in Sudan. Its success will depend on the solidarity of all of us—donors, partners, and local communities—to ensure that education is the foundation of a peaceful and prosperous future for Sudan.

A Resilient Education System
The Transitional Education Plan 2025-2027 prioritizes inclusive, equitable, and resilient education, with a strong focus on the most vulnerable: girls, displaced children, children with disabilities, and those living in hard-to-reach areas.

This crisis has impacted Sudans already fragile education system, with 6.9 million children out of school even before the war. Sudan is also severely affected by climate-related emergencies, further exacerbating the risks to learners and teachers.

Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, Sudans education system has faced unprecedented disruption. As of August 2025, of the 17 million school-age children, only 3 million have returned to school, and less than a third of schools have reopened.

The initiative emphasizes creating safe and resilient learning environments. This includes rebuilding schools with risk-informed and climate-smart designs, providing temporary learning spaces, and ensuring access to learning facilities and protection for all learners.

At the school level, the plan promotes contingency planning, child protection measures, and emergency response training for teachers and communities. It also integrates disaster risk reduction, climate education, mental health and psychosocial support, and peacebuilding, ensuring a comprehensive approach that addresses all risks and threats.

Laura Frigenti, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education, says the resilience of teachers, learners, and families in Sudan, who continue their relentless pursuit of education in the face of such immense adversity, is truly inspiring. Urgent funding is key to ensuring this education plan moves forward, she says. “Every dollar is a step towards restoring hope and rebuilding the future.”

Looking to the Future and a Call to Action
The plan requires 580 million in funding over three years, with 272 million still to be mobilized. Sudan’s Local Education Cluster partners called on donors to increase their contributions with flexible and sustainable funding. She said humanitarian and development partners must align immediate responses with long-term system strengthening.

She called on civil society and local communities to make their local voices heard, promote inclusion, and support the safe reopening of schools.

UNESCO reiterated its commitment to working with Sudan’s Local Education Cluster partners and the people of Sudan to ensure every child and young person has access to education, even in the midst of crisis. This commitment extends to youth and higher education, including through UNESCOs efforts to expand technical and vocational education and training to include Sudanese youth.

Government Acknowledgment
Sudanese educational authorities have acknowledged the significant challenges facing the educational process in Khartoum State and the severe shortage of teaching positions in the state at the start of the postponed school year (2024-2025). According to the SUNA News Agency on August 17, 2025, the Ministry of Education and National Education pledged to support the state with 5,000 teaching positions to fill the shortage, noting that positions approved by the Ministry of Finance will be announced and offered by the state in accordance with its established procedures.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Ahmed Khalifa Omar, revealed a severe shortage of textbooks and seating, and that there is an urgent need to rehabilitate and maintain 63 schools in Khartoum State, at a cost of 166,000 as a first phase. He noted that 20 schools are designated for each locality, and that the total cost of all items, after the survey, amounted to 11,417,267.

The Khartoum State Government has approved the start of the 2024-2025 academic calendar in the state, with teachers starting school on Sunday, August 24, to help prepare the school environment and address existing shortcomings. The final year of primary, middle, and secondary school will begin on September 7, 2024, with student registration continuing for the various grades, which will begin a week later.