The deterioration of the educational environment in Southern Kordofan

Also read Zeinab Saleh's reportage about "South Kordofan: Political Stillness Prevails"

The two third-grade students hit and kick for what they deem to be a crucial matter. The fight, although seemingly innocent and childish, has deep connotations. At the heart of the fight: a prize. The prize is a stone, which is considered by both to be special. The relatively high stone has a smooth surface, offering a somehow more comfortable seat compared to the rest of the stones around, usually used by the students as improvised seats. The stone is far from providing the comfort of a chair, but chairs are a rare commodity, especially for primary school students.

Location: Kadugli town in the Nuba Mountains, Hajar Almak Girls' School. What first draws the attention is the absence of any protective gate. Cattle, stray dogs and all other intruders have easy access to the school premises.

A street in Kadugli (photo by Rita Willaert).

Inside the courtyard, the bleating of the sheep and the noise of some schoolgirls, who according to their schedule have an "empty session" (which the administration denied was due to a decreasing number of teachers) have mixed up, bringing the environment to chaos. Near the turbulent schoolgirls, the voice of an Arabic language teacher attempts to rise higher than the rest, as she teaches a third-grade class in a dedicated space of the yard.  

Students receiving their education sitting on stones has become a familiar picture in primary schools. The shade of trees has become the equivalent of roofs, for infrastructure is close to inexistent.

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Halima Bashir Ali, the headmistress of the school, describes how some students bring chairs, everyday back and forth from their homes, as the lack of insurance in the school prevents them form keeping the chairs there. Halima also complained from classroom overcrowding. The basic capacity of a classroom is of 50 pupils, while in reality the number of students per classroom ranges from at least 65 to a maximum of - believe it or not - 107 students.

Nuba school children in Kau sharing chairs  (photo courtesy of Rita Willaert)

Adil Coco, the President of the Educational Council (the parents' council) responsible for Hajar Almak Girls' School acknowledges that most schools suffer from seating issues, citing the example of the class mentioned by Halima, hosting 107 pupils. The classrooms are equipped with a limited number of wooden seats, not exceeding six per class, with one to four students per seat. The rest of the students have to sit on the floor. Coco explains that due to the limited number of classrooms and teachers in most schools, the class holds more than its prescribed capacity, thus affecting the quality of teaching and learning.

It should be noted that the Southern Kordofan State is one of the oil-producing states, yet this wealth is not reflected in the educational sector or any other public service. Adil Coco stresses that the two percent legal state share of the oil revenues did not improve the living standards of people at all. The situation worsened to the extent that Coco had to collect donations from affluent families to build a fencing wall for Hajar Almak Girls' School.

Southern Kordofan - Source: Wiki Commons

Mustafa Ismail, a National Congress Party (NCP) leader, draws a contrasting image of the educational sector. He asserts that the achievement rate is high, especially in girls' schools. He as well added that the seating issues were already addressed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), making the required numbers of chairs available in all the schools of the state. Mustafa also denied any shortage of teachers.

The majority of statements from other officials and other concerned voices in the region confirm the views expressed by Coco. Thaoura Issa, an activist, says that all schools in the state - with the exception of three city schools - suffer from a severe lack of text books, in addition to the already mentioned issues of infrastructure and shortage of teachers. She specifies that in some areas, textbooks are simply inexistent.

In light of the important political changes ahead of the South Kordofan State, with the due popular consultation, the schoolgirls of Hajar Almak might be looking at major changes in the educational environment. Whether all necessary efforts are put in place from all concerned parties to affect real change in the sector of education will be the determining factor in ensuring better standards and conditions of learning in the Nuba Mountains region.