Education Above All Foundation denounces attacks on education in Sudan as they threaten children’s right to learn
Education Above All (EAA) Foundation is deeply concerned by the destruction of more than 330,000 school textbooks and other learning materials in drone strikes in the Sudanese town of Shikan, in North Kordofan state.
The learning materials, including more than 292,000 school textbooks and 40,000 Arabic Language and Mathematics Review Books, were intended for distribution to children ahead of the new school year in October. Their destruction is expected to affect thousands of children in West Bara, Bara and Um Dam, a region that already faces serious challenges in ensuring educational continuity due to the conflict.
UNICEF has reported that more than 8 million of Sudan’s estimated 17 million school-aged children are currently out of school, with learning disruption particularly acute in Darfur and Kordofan.
“When learning materials are destroyed, children lose essential tools they need to exercise their right to learn and continue their education. In a context where millions of children are already out of school because of conflict, the destruction of hundreds of thousands of learning materials creates yet another barrier to education and threatens children’s ability to continue learning. These attacks come in the context of a war that has seen the destruction of hundreds of books, libraries and archives as well as the obliteration of universities and colleges. In the present war in Sudan, knowledge and intellectual life have become a target,” said Maleiha Malik, Executive Director of Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC).
EAA Foundation calls for children, their books and education to be protected from attacks, for all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international law, for civilian infrastructure to be protected and for safe, sustained and unhindered educational access to be facilitated.
The destruction of learning materials in North Kordofan also highlights the importance of protecting education as an essential form of continuity and protection for children living through conflict. Even amid crisis, maintaining access to learning can provide children with stability, routine and a pathway to rebuild their lives and communities.
EAA Foundation remains committed to working with partners to advance the protection of education and support children affected by conflict, displacement and crisis in accessing safe, inclusive and quality learning opportunities.
For more information, contact EAA Media Specialists.
