Postponed Sudan school exams scheduled for December in Egypt

The Sudanese and Egyptian education ministries have agreed to hold the postponed Sudanese Certificate exams for the 2023 academic year in Egyptian schools, following a bilateral effort to address barriers faced by Sudanese students in Egypt.

The postponed exams will take place on December 28. Schools in Egypt that offer the Sudanese curriculum had been shuttered by the authorities in Cairo in June.

Sudan’s education minister, Ahmed El Khalifa, and his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Abdellatif, reached an understanding to address logistical hurdles. These include determining the number of students eligible to take the exams, and determining their distribution across Egyptian schools.

Sudanese students face several challenges in Egypt, such as high tuition fees, and the requirement to have legal residency to enrol in school. Many of the 1.2 million Sudanese refugees in Egypt that fled the current war have entered illegally, or have been unable to legalise their status, making it difficult for their children to access formal education.

Sudanese Friendship School

The talks also led to an agreement to reopen the Sudanese Friendship School in Giza for the current academic year. The Sudanese Embassy in Cairo announced that students could now register for the 2024/2025 academic year, due to start on December 1.

The Egyptian Ministry of Education confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that a comprehensive technical and engineering assessment of the school will be conducted in collaboration with the Educational Buildings Authority to ensure its safety for students.

The Cultural Counselor at the Sudanese Embassy announced on Wednesday a planned visit by a committee from Egypt’s Ministry of Education, to review Sudanese schools in Cairo and evaluate their conditions.

Persistent hurdles

Ismail Sharif, a teacher at El Qabas El Munir School in Giza, told Radio Dabanga that ambiguity in managing Sudanese schools has left parents deeply concerned. He pointed to repeated warnings from the Sudanese Embassy against paying fees until the situation becomes clearer, or opening schools without proper coordination with Egyptian authorities.

Sharif also highlighted the substandard conditions of some Sudanese schools in Egypt, which he said “fail to meet basic educational and safety standards”. He proposed that a joint committee, including officials from the Sudanese Ministry of Education, the embassy, and Egyptian authorities, should assess the schools and close only those that fail to meet minimum safety and educational standards.

The high cost of education remains another critical issue. Tuition fees for Egyptian schools are prohibitively expensive for many Sudanese families, while the requirement for legal residency adds another layer of difficulty.

Sharif urged Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi to intervene, citing his previous support for Sudanese refugees, including by extending residency permits. Without such intervention, he warned, many Sudanese students risk losing access to education altogether.