Sudan's Education Collapse Leaves Millions Out of School
Recent Developments
012026-01-22: Save the Children said Sudan’s children had lost nearly 500 days of learning since April 2023, with more than 8 million children missing about 484 days of classroom time.
022026-01-22: Save the Children reported North Darfur had only 3% of more than 1,100 schools open, while West Kordofan, South Darfur, and West Darfur had similarly low operating rates.
032025-2026: UNESCO said the war has left 19 million children out of school, and the Education Cluster said 54% of schools are in active conflict or unstable zones while 18% are used as shelters.
Interventions
- UNICEF and partners are scaling education and protection services for crisis-affected children across Sudan, including foundational learning support.
- The Education Cluster is coordinating safe learning spaces, remote learning, and e-learning in hotspot areas where schools are closed.
- UNESCO and education partners are prioritizing reopening schools, improving teacher support, and mobilizing resources for education recovery.
What Works
- Safe learning spaces combined with remote or e-learning can preserve access to instruction when schools are closed or occupied, and the Education Cluster is already using this approach in hotspot areas.
- Learning continuity platforms such as UNICEF’s Learning Passport are being used to support displaced learners and maintain access to education during conflict.
- Emergency education support that includes teacher compensation, school repairs, and psychosocial services is part of the current response strategy because unpaid teachers and damaged schools are major barriers to reopening.
How to Help
- Donate to UNICEF, UNESCO-linked education response efforts, Save the Children, or other humanitarian organizations working on Sudan’s education emergency.
- Support groups providing school materials, temporary learning spaces, and teacher assistance for displaced children in Sudan.
- Advocate for sustained humanitarian funding and education access by contacting elected representatives and supporting emergency education appeals.
Make an Impact
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(7)
Save the Children’s strategy is built around reaching children early, at scale, and through integrated services. In health, education, protection, and emergency response, it combines direct service delivery with community engagement, local partnerships, and advocacy to address both immediate needs and the structural causes that keep children from surviving and thriving.[1][2][9] A distinctive feature of its model is that it aims to “reach every last child,” including children in rural areas, conflict zones, and displaced communities, by adapting programs to local contexts and working through governments, service providers, parents, and communities. Rather than treating sectors separately, it often bundles interventions—for example linking education with health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and social-emotional support—to improve outcomes and resilience over time.[2][3][9] In emergencies, Save the Children uses a rapid-response, stay-for-recovery approach: it is among the first responders and remains after the initial crisis to support learning continuity, child protection, and family recovery.[2][3] In health and education, it emphasizes evidence-based methods such as behavior change campaigns, foundational literacy and numeracy programs, and community ownership to improve uptake and sustainability.[5][9]
UNESCO works on Sudan’s education collapse by coordinating system-level recovery and planning. In Sudan, UNESCO helped launch the Transitional Education Plan with the Global Partnership for Education and Sudan’s Local Education Group. This approach focuses on restoring learning through coordinated sector planning, mobilizing major funding for education recovery, and supporting the rebuilding of an education system disrupted by war.
World Vision tackles Sudan’s education crisis by expanding access to formal and non-formal education, rehabilitating existing learning spaces, constructing temporary learning spaces, providing school supplies, and training teachers. It also works with parents, communities, and local duty-bearers to strengthen children’s protection and improve school participation and learning outcomes, including through school feeding in some areas.
Education Cannot Wait supports Sudan through emergency and multi-year responses that build inclusive learning environments, increase enrolment, and address children’s physical and mental well-being. Its grantees create safe learning spaces, improve access for displaced and marginalized children, support reintegration of out-of-school students, and provide mental health and psychosocial support as part of education-in-emergencies programming.
