Sudan

Through a national referendum in 1998, the people of Sudan approved the Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan after it had been passed by the national assembly on March 28 of the same year. This new constitution embodies the Islamic ideals of the Muslim umma, or community of believers, and the social order as revealed in the Quran and hadith or traditions of the Prophet Mohammed.

In this new constitution, Articles 12 and 14 of Part I spell out the aims of educating the next generation of Sudanese. Article 12 sets forth the aim of eliminating illiteracy and raising the level of educational, scientific, and artistic achievement within the confines of religiosity:

Article 12 The State shall enlist official capabilities and mobilize popular forces for the purpose of eradicating illiteracy and ignorance and intensifying the systems of education, shall strive to encourage sciences, scientific research and experimentation and facilitate acquiring the same, and shall as well strive to encourage all form of art and strenuously seek to elevate society towards values of religiousness, piety, and good deeds.

Article 14 emphasizes the implementation of education policies and also hints at the politico-religious nature of the educational process in protecting children from spiritual neglect and overseeing the moral care and spiritual cleansing of Sudanese children and youth:

Article 14 The State shall care for children and youth and protect them against exploitation and physical and spiritual neglect, and shall direct policies of education, moral care, national guidance and spiritual cleansing to grow a good generation.

Further on, the constitution guarantees in Article 24 of part II the "freedom of conscience and religious creed" and the "right to. . .manifest the same by way of worship, education, practice or performance of rites or ceremonies; and no one shall be coerced to adopt such faith." And in the following Article 25, the further rights of the populace with regard to freedom of thought and expression are guaranteed, "without coercion by authority."