War Zones Replace Classrooms as Learning Loss Surpasses Pandemic
Sudan's ongoing conflict has created what aid groups call one of the world's worst education crises, with 8 million school-age children currently out of classrooms – equivalent to every other desk sitting empty. 🪑➡️💥
Save the Children revealed Thursday that Sudanese students have missed 500 school days since fighting erupted in April 2023 – more learning time lost than during COVID-19 lockdowns. The organization warns the education system could 'collapse completely' without urgent intervention.
War's Classroom Casualties
📉 Only 3% schools open in North Darfur
🏚️ Many buildings now shelters for displaced families
💸 Teachers abandoning unpaid jobs
🚨 Drone strikes intensifying in al-Obeid
In a chilling development, drone attacks recently killed civilians in North Kordofan's capital while famine looms in Al-Fashir and Kadugli. Over 100,000 people fled Al-Fashir after paramilitary forces seized the city in October 2025.
'International Community Failing Children'
Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing, who visited schools this month in Port Sudan and Khartoum, stressed: 'Education protects kids from armed group recruitment – but first we need actual schools.' The group urges immediate funding for teacher salaries, classroom repairs, and supplies.
As fighting continues in multiple regions, this crisis threatens to create what analysts call a 'lost generation' – with consequences that could echo across Africa for decades. 🌍⏳
