World

Sudan’s War Leaves Millions of Children Without Education, Many Forced into Work

By Fatima Edam

The armed conflict that erupted in Sudan on 15 April 2023 has left millions of children out of school. UNICEF reports that 8 million of the country’s 17 million school‑age children are currently not attending classes. In Darfur, about 80 percent of schools remain closed and 70 percent of children in the area are not in school. Save the Children estimates that children have missed an average of 484 days of classroom learning since the war began.

Nine‑year‑old Abkar Mohammed lives in a rented home in al‑Kasara, a low‑income neighbourhood of Port Sudan. After the war broke out, he and his mother and three siblings moved from Khartoum. Abkar does not attend formal school because of the family’s finances, but he studies the Quran in a traditional “khalwa”. After his lessons he cleans and polishes shoes on the streets, earning about 1 000 Sudanese pounds ($0.11) per pair and roughly 10 000 pounds ($1.08) a day. He gives the money to his mother to cover daily needs. His 23‑year‑old brother works casual jobs in the markets.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2023, has been accused of targeting schools and universities with drone strikes. In September 2026 a drone attack on two warehouses in North Kordofan destroyed more than 330 000 school textbooks and other learning materials.

Sulaima Ishag, head of the Government Advisory Council for Women and Children, told Al Jazeera that children in conflict zones such as Darfur and parts of Kordofan are at greatest risk of permanently losing access to education. She cited cases of school dropouts, child marriage, sexual violence, adolescent pregnancy and increased domestic responsibilities, especially for girls. She warned that the absence of schools as safe environments leaves children vulnerable to child labour, early marriage, recruitment by armed groups, exploitation, sexual violence, trafficking and family separation, and that the psychological toll is significant.

Eva Hinds, UNICEF’s head of advocacy and communication in Sudan, said that nearly half of all school buildings in the country no longer function as classrooms due to war damage. She added that displaced children who have been forced to flee several times face additional barriers, as repeated displacement disrupts learning and separates them from teachers and classmates, often leaving them without learning materials or a safe place to study. Hinds warned that the longer children remain out of school, the harder it will be to make up lost learning, deepening existing inequalities and threatening the country’s future peace, recovery and development.

Psychologist Hanaa Mohamed told Al Jazeera that prolonged displacement and interruptions to schooling have taken a significant psychological toll on children. Many experience a constant state of fear, sleep disturbances and difficulty focusing. These pressures have led to changes in behaviour, including increased aggression or social withdrawal, and have helped bring cases of violence and sexual exploitation against children to light.

The war has set Sudan’s economy back 30 years, with 60 percent of Sudanese now living in poverty. Families fleeing the conflict often enter new towns or camps with few social connections and sometimes only the clothes on their backs. The dire financial situation means few jobs are available for adults, forcing parents to rely on their children for essential income.

Saliha Omer, who sells tea on a street in Port Sudan, said her meagre finances prevented her from enrolling her 11‑year‑old son in school. He currently works at a grocery shop in Port Sudan, but Saliha plans to return to Khartoum soon so he can attend school.

Mahmoud al‑Ghali, 16, has not been to school since the war broke out when he was 13, and has been displaced several times. For the past three years he has sold sweets and crisps on the streets of Port Sudan to provide his family with extra income. He remembers his final days at school, when he and his classmates sat their end‑of‑year exams. The war changed their plans. He now sells small packets of crisps or sweets, keeps a profit of about 20 000 Sudanese pounds (less than $3 a day) and hopes to save enough money to expand his small trading business. His two younger brothers have returned to classes in their village in Gaziera State after the SAF regained control of the area. Mahmoud said he no longer feels as strongly about going back to school as he once did, but he will keep trying so his younger brothers can finish their education.