Sudan

In 2001 less than half of eligible Primary school-age students and less than one quarter of eligible secondary school-age students are enrolled in schools; there are thousands of displaced school-age children receiving no education whatsoever; and sitting on the ground under a tree is considered "school" by many students. It can be argued that nonformal education constitutes the most important means of schooling in war-ravaged Sudan. In the areas outside the famine zones relatively unaffected by the fighting, there are schools filled with children. But in the rural areas of Sudan, the educational process has suffered greatly. Erratic patterns of education and frequent disruptions in the learning process are characteristic features of education in Sudan.

With more internally displaced persons than any other country, Sudan poses tremendous challenges for educators in working with the repeatedly displaced populace in refugee camps. Amidst such hardship, a sporadic educational enterprise is conducted. According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR), 80 percent of the displaced population are very poor, spending about 80 percent of their income on food and meeting barely half of their nourishment needs. In Khartoum, only one third of the displaced children attend school. Such poverty means that most of these children never will attend school.

Rural Extension Programs: Among populations other than the children of displaced war refugees, nonformal education endeavors include programs to train women in rural extension projects. Al Ahfad University, the only university for women in Sudan, is a leader in this area, and its School of Rural Extension Education and Development has made important contributions in areas such as nutrition and health education, family planning, women's studies, and early childhood development. With over 4,600 students enrolled in the university, many of whom participate in the rural extension programs, the university has pioneered the contribution of educational projects to communities who need help and training the most. Other pioneering projects include the Ahfad Journal: Women and Change, the only professional journal regularly published in Sudan today, reporting research on the roles of women in Sudan, and the contributions that women can make to the development of their communities. Ahfad University also sponsors educational initiatives such as the Sudan-American Foundation for Education (SAFE), an organization that provides books, journals, and educational supplies for use at Ahfad and other universities. The secondhand materials donated to this organization from schools and individuals in the United States are a welcome contribution to the cash-starved educational sector in Sudan, and the materials are put to good use.

As far as rural education programs are concerned, Ahfad University has taken the lead in the nonformal education sector with regard to community outreach programs targeting the needs of women and the roles for them as positive agents for change within their communities. Through Ahfad University's Rural Extension Program, families in rural areas of Sudan are helped to improve their quality of life. Students involved in these extension programs live in rural areas, planning and participating in projects that help local women to educate themselves, organize community projects, develop leadership, and earn certificates in training. For example, past studies have investigated how women can become involved in small-scale economic enterprises to better feed their families. Other projects have involved training women how to implement better food-processing and storage techniques and new technologies in water management and animal husbandry. Education videos and films have been produced on health topics such as childbirth and midwifery, and also topics relating to the prevention of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, STDs, and malaria.

Education of women through such programs is very important because the illiteracy rate among Sudanese women is around 90 percent (Badri, Haga Kashif 1994). Programs such as those sponsored by Ahfad's Rural Extension Program are vitally needed to raise the level of nourishment in the famine zones. Women, in the experience of aid groups, have been more honest than men in controlling the food better and using it to nourish their families instead of stealing and diverting it for the support of militia troops, whether Khartoum-sponsored or rebel-sponsored.

Since the establishment of the Sudanese Women's Union (SWU) in 1952, which was outlawed later by Islamists, and had to find other outlets for expression, the level of women's involvement in politics has varied, and some important gains have receded in recent years. But progress continues through nonformal education programs and rural extension outreaches such as those sponsored by Ahfad University. For example, issues such as improving the standard of learning for women and girls, healthcare and nutrition, literacy and numeracy, freedom in decision-making, and economic and political empowerment will be addressed and hopefully improved.

The social predicament of women (Duany, Julia Akery 1999) reflects the systematic gender-segregation in Sudanese society. Access to education for women is severely limited by traditional beliefs about women's roles and by familial inability to finance a girl's education; if progress is to be made in empowerment and education of women, important steps can be taken at the nonformal level of education.