Sudan Exam Chaos: Thousands of students barred from crucial tests

December 27, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – Thousands of Sudanese students have been blocked from sitting crucial secondary school certificate exams due to the ongoing conflict, the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee said on Friday. The exams, which begin on Saturday, proceed despite widespread disruption and insecurity caused by fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The committee said students in eight of Sudan’s 18 states will be wholly excluded from the exams, while those in six other states face partial restrictions. Thus, 60% of students nationwide will be affected.

“The de facto government is pushing the country into a quagmire by insisting on holding these exams,” the committee said in a statement, criticizing the lack of planning and chaotic organization.

Many students in Khartoum state have been unable to obtain their exam seat numbers, while exams in several localities, including areas in West and South Kordofan and Chad, have been cancelled at the last minute.

The committee also condemned alleged “favouritism and nepotism” in the selection of exam supervisors for overseas centres in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Khartoum state governor Ahmed Othman Hamza has attempted to reassure students, saying authorities are working to address the issues and ensure all eligible students can sit the exams. The education ministry said it sent 5,000 extra exam papers to Khartoum to accommodate those without seat numbers.

However, the teachers’ committee maintains that the exams are politically motivated and aimed at “consolidating the reality of the war” rather than serving educational purposes.

“The goal of conducting these exams is political, not educational,” said Sami al-Baqir, a spokesman for the committee. He highlighted the plight of students stranded in Khartoum and the lack of security in many areas.

The committee called for a ceasefire and a more inclusive and secure environment for exams to take place.

Meanwhile, a teacher in North Darfur told Reuters that exams in the Al-Malah locality had been effectively cancelled due to “impossible conditions” imposed by authorities for transporting students to the Northern state.

The resistance committees in Al-Fasher, North Darfur, also criticized the government’s insistence on holding the exams, calling it a “political manoeuvre” that puts students at risk. They accused the RSF of actively obstructing students from reaching exam centres.