Ottawa — The British Office and the Canadian and German embassies in Sudan have called on the warring parties to facilitate the movement of students taking the postponed Sudanese Certificate exams on December 28. They join a growing number of voices warning that holding the exams under current conditions could endanger students' safety and exacerbate inequalities.
In a joint donor statement released on Saturday, the three entities expressed particular concern about students travelling through conflict zones to reach exam centres.
"While we commend the Ministry's efforts to advance education objectives through the scheduled examinations", the statement read, "we express significant concern that this decision could result in the unsafe movement of students across lines of conflict.
"We also note that allowing exams to be conducted only in certain parts of the country could widen education gaps and inequities between children in Sudan.
As previously reported by Dabanga, the federal Ministry of Education announced in late October that the postponed 2022/2023 Sudanese Certificate exams would be held exclusively in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on December 28.
No examination centres have been established in Darfur, where civilian administrations linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were not officially notified of the exams. There are reports that the RSF is hindering students to travel to SAF-held areas to take their exams.
"Given that students are already on the move to access examinations in SAF-controlled areas, we urgently call on all parties to the conflict to actively enable and facilitate the safe passage of students for the 28 December 2024 examinations", the embassies said.
Postponed exams
The exams, delayed due to the outbreak of war in April 2023, will be conducted at 2,300 centres inside and outside Sudan, according to the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Education. 344 thousand students--83 percent of those eligible--are expected to participate.
Exams will be held in full in Kassala, El Gedaref, Red Sea state, and Northern State, while partial administration is planned for River Nile state, White Nile state, Sennar, El Gezira, Khartoum, and Kordofan.
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Outside Sudan, nearly 47 thousand students will sit for exams, with the largest group, around 27 thousand, based in Egypt. Chad has refused to host examination centres, prompting the Darfur Bar Association and the Governor of West Darfur to negotiate with Chadian authorities to reverse the decision.
Last week, Sudan's Emergency Lawyers condemned the decision to hold the exams, arguing that the current conditions "make it impossible for many to access exam centres, particularly those living in camps both inside and outside Sudan."
