Darfuri students protest Education Ministry decision

Members of Darfur Students Associations of universities and higher education institutions staged a peaceful protest in front of the Ministry of Education in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Tuesday morning.

They students are calling on the Ministry to reconsider reversing measures to benefit Darfuri students.

The action was prompted by the Ministry repealing free education and positive discrimination in the admission of Darfuri students to Sudanese universities. These policies, aimed at uplifting education in Sudan’s least developed states, were stipulated by the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) which became defunct following the Darfur referendum in May 2016.

On Tuesday the secretary-general of Darfuri students told Radio Dabanga that the decisions taken by the government this year will have a negative impact on education in Darfur in both the short and long term.

The DDPD stipulated that Darfuri students should be given preference for study places at Sudanese universities, and be exempt from tuition fees.