Sudan Education
Primary Education
The situation is fluid in Sudan, and the information provided here describes the situation as understood in June 2011. Education is free for children aged 6 to 13 years, and commences with 8 years of primary education. The teaching is in Arabic throughout. Schools are mainly clustered in urban areas where they have survived the ongoing civil war. The rights of young girls to access the system is largely under the influence of tribal councils and religious leaders.
Secondary Education
The period set aside for paid secondary education is 3 years and the enrollment factor is 21%. This is partly due to structural bottlenecks and the enrollment of young boys as soldiers. Authorities also still believe in focusing at primary level in terms of a bottom-up approach.
Vocational Education
Many vocational training centers have fallen into disrepair too, and there is little co-ordinated effort by the authorities in this regard either. What exists, is mainly courtesy of aid agencies and foreign donors, and focuses on integrating military personnel back into society.
Tertiary Education
There are a number of universities in Sudan, although it is difficult to comment on the quality of their education programs beyond hoping that they remain good.
The University of Khartoum is by far the oldest and most well respected, having been originally founded as the Gordon Memorial College in 1902, and re-established in 1956 at the time of independence. It has an impressive range of faculties and research centers, and also a main library regarded as amongst the oldest in all of Africa.