Ellen Ismail - Culture and Society in the Sudan

Culture and Society in the Sudan - Ellen Ismail

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Children in Sudan

Around 50% of the Sudanese population is below 15 years – and this trend is further inccreasing. Life expectancy is currently at around 53 years. The more than 20 years ongoing wars and civil unrests in the south (hopefully now settled due to the peace agreement in January 2005), the Nuba Mountains and now the Darfur region have drained most of lthe countries resources.
The education system has also felt the

brunt of this, although even in 1989 when the coup d’etat took place, the educational system was very under developed. Over the past few years the standard of the educational system has declined further in also northern Sudan. For most children living in rural areas regular attendance at school is very unlikely. In the north of Sudan around 41% of 6 year olds and above attend school. Illiteracy levels of those 15 and older are at around 76%, for girls and women it is around 86%. In the south of Sudan illiteracy in children is around 90%. The educational systems are extremely under funded and lack qualified teachers; the level of education continues to decline drastically. Sudanese who are financially well off either pay for their children to attend private run schools or send their children for further education overseas. The level of education for girls continues to fall well behind that of boys.

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