'At some point, I lost hope in continuing my education.  It felt like the end of everything: No solutions in sight and no light at the end of the tunnel.'

The student I interviewed was at a loss about her education choices, her career path, and her future. Like so many Sudanese students, she had been forced to drop out of her studies when unrest shut down her university in Khartoum. As a student myself, I could relate to her story. We shared the fate of an entire generation of young people who had enrolled in higher education. Since the war broke out in 2023, I have connected with peers from diverse universities, study  fields, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Beyond shared emotional struggles, we face practical challenges due to the suspension of our studies—an issue that remains largely overlooked despite its profound impact.

In this blog, I’ll share some of our struggles. But I’ll also point to initiatives that make the situation easier to cope with.

High-risk factors
The past year has been particularly challenging for us. Life as a student feels like climbing an endless line of hurdles in pursuit of education. With the closure of many universities, it has been extremely challenging to continue studies.

For many, the dream of higher education is becoming increasingly distant, overshadowed by the harsh realities of conflict and instability. And for some, the challenges have been particularly daunting:

• Female students: Girls have always faced greater obstacles in accessing education in Sudan. The patriarchal system adds an extra layer of challenges, especially in marginalised regions where some cities even lack proper high schools for girls, making university education a distant dream.
  
  
• Displaced students: The ongoing security crisis has hit students from displaced families extra hard because of the loss of stable housing, financial insecurity, limited access to schools, and the psychological toll of displacement.
  Displaced families are especially concerned about their daughters traveling from the places where they are now located to the university centers established for exams and studies. Additionally, the economic hardships have been even more severe for girls, as they face fewer job opportunities and greater social barriers.
  
  
• Final-year students: The challenges faced by university students in Sudan vary by academic level. First-year students have been faced with two difficult choices: either wait for their Sudanese universities to resume, which could take years, or transfer to foreign universities (Egypt for example), where tuition costs have increased tenfold since the outbreak of the war. For final-year students, challenges are even greater as their remaining courses are often highly specialised, tied to specific faculty or clinical requirements that are costly and difficult to complete elsewhere. Many institutions also don't accept partial degrees or final-year trensfers, forcing students to either repreat course or start over - an option few can afford. 

For many students, the situation is so challenging that even after the university has implemented measure to continue further studies, some have been unable to continue and complete their final years due to the high costs and their displacement.

Marred by administrative hurdles
The ongoing conflict has led to significant administrative disruptions within the higher education system, creating substantial barriers for graduates. The impact extends beyond undergraduate studies, as many recent graduates struggle to obtain their certificates, pursue postgraduate education, or secure employment to support their families in urgent need.

‘I graduated in early 2023, a few months before the war, but because of the war, the university and ministry suspension, I have not received my degree yet, and because of this I have lost two years where I have not been able to work in the field I graduated from', 2023 dental technology graduate

Severe financial and administrative limitations have effectively stopped some universities from resuming operations even after their students have been ready to continue their studies.

‘After the war, the university announced that it was financially unable to resume studies. This, combined with the effects of war and displacement, means that we are now in our second year without university. Given the economic hardship and displacement, we do not have many alternatives. When the university explored the possibility of e-learning, they found that most students had been displaced in areas without network access, and many students were missing or detained’, second year student at faculty of laboratories

Students who were displaced from already marginalized areas such as Darfur have become even more disconnected: Even the attempts of e-learning programs adopted by some universities to mitigate the war-induced gap have not been available to them.

‘When the war began, I was in Geneina (West Darfur) and was displaced to Chad after the massacre’ Five months later, when I was finally able to reconnect with my colleagues, I learned that the university had resumed the studies three months earlier. As a result, I missed my chance to sit for the final exam. Fortunately, alternative exams were available', final-year dental student

Student-led solutions to address the crisis
During a recent higher education workshop, I learned that while universities and the ministry are making efforts, concrete solutions have yet to materialize.

Currently, neither the Ministry nor most universities have provided real solutions. However, students have taken some steps to alleviate the situation:

• Reactivating student bodies: Efforts to revive student organizations that highlight student issues and work toward solutions.
  
  
• Youth initiatives: Organizing educational workshops, courses, and skills training to support students (one example is the Opportunities initiative)
  
  
• Scholarship support: Various initiatives and individuals are actively sharing scholarship opportunities, helping students qualify, and providing guidance through those who have successfully obtained them.
  
  
• Developing e-learning platforms: Students are forming virtual study groups to continue learning, share resources, and support each other academically.
  
  
• Community-based learning centers: Some communities have set up informal learning spaces where students can gather to study, access books, and receive mentorship.
  
  
• Volunteering and peer teaching: Senior students and graduates are offering free tutoring to help younger students keep up with their studies.

The effectiveness of these student-led solutions could be greatly enhanced through stronger networking and the creation of a unified platform connecting students with the government and higher education leaders and their respective university administrations. A centralized digital platform could serve as a bridge between students, universities, and policymakers, allowing for better coordination, resource-sharing, and advocacy. Such a platform would enable students to access scholarship opportunities, e-learning resources, and mentorship programs while also providing a space for them to voice their concerns directly to decision-makers. By fostering collaboration between student organizations, education officials, and international partners, this initiative could lead to more sustainable and impactful solutions, ensuring that no student is left behind due to war, displacement, or financial hardship.

Recent institutional efforts
In recent months, some Sudanese universities have announced the reopening of their main campuses in Khartoum. While a few students have returned, many displaced students—especially those who fled abroad—have expressed concern about the decision to go back when conditions are not welcoming and the war is not yet over. Given the current economic hardships, unstable living conditions, and the lack of security, returning to Khartoum remains extremely difficult for most of them.

This blog post is written by Sudanese student Aya Khatir Haroun Nahar. 

The views expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the SNAC project or CMI. 

For more on war-related higher education challenges in Sudan:

Medical education challenges during the war crisis in Sudan: a cross-sectional study, 2023-2024

Research in displacement: The impact of war on Sudan's higher education and academic research community

War shut down Sudan's universities. But its students refused to give up.