An Ethnographic Study of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students after the War in Sudan

Noon Elsharif

December 14th, 2023

Preface

It is Sunday, you just started your first semester ever, and are buzzing with nerves because you have to present the code you crafted for your class. Your hands are clammy and your chest is heaving. You finish presenting when your professor takes a phone call and leaves the lecture hall. You are answering your batchmates’ questions and laughing at your earlier state. That is when your professor walks back in and tells you and your friends to evacuate immediately. You haven’t the faintest clue what is happening as you wander off to gather your bags.

The first time you hear gunshots is once you leave the lecture hall. You feel the panic erupt in the room as you hear the screams from all around you. You and your friends are told to take cover on the ground floor, and you rush there; scared, shaking. Someone comes from the top floor to scream something. It is faint because your hearing is muffled, but it sounds something like: “They are coming in from the west gate.” You don’t know who, you don’t know what. That is when the panic strikes you. You freeze, the fear paralyzes you. You are told to rush towards the East gate.

The next few minutes are a blur of screams, panic, and sprinting. Your friend’s father miraculously arrives at the East gate the moment you get there. You crowd in his small car and leave the area. The whole time you are away from your family, you thank God that it was you and not them.

Introduction

The war in Sudan erupted on April 15th of this year between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia run by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo who is known as ‘Hemedti’, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The RSF evolved from a ‘Janjaweed’ militia, who according to Al Jazeera, committed war crimes in Darfur and was used by the former dictator to put down rebellions. The conflict primarily raged in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and has since spread to other parts of the country, leaving more than 12,000 civilians dead and about 6.6 million displaced.

Khartoum was home to the most prominent private and public universities that housed students from all over the country. Now, over a hundred of these universities have been looted, destroyed, and ruined by the RSF, who are known to settle and use governmental and private institutions as military barracks. The Sudanese Ministry Of Education declared that the RSF has killed “numerous employees and academics”. This, coupled with the displacement, financial stress, and safety concerns of civilians, has led to the indefinite disruption of higher education in Khartoum.

Though the problem of the current state of education in Sudan is important, there is a definite research gap in this topic due to the lack of attention it is garnering. This is likely because of more urgent concerns facing civilians, like food security, safety concerns, and the continued clashes between the RSF and the SAF. Nonetheless, it is still important to research this topic, not only to raise awareness of the impact of war but to hash out possible solutions to help end this dilemma. This research explores the impact the war has on higher education in Sudan, targeting the current problems facing undergraduates and postgraduates, who all suffer the consequences of the deadly war.

Research Questions

I aim to find answers to the following research questions:
1. To what extent has the war in Sudan limited the higher educational opportunities of Sudanese Young Adults in and out of the country?
2. What are the main factors that contributed to this?
3. How has this in turn affected their current and future plans?
The research questions I constructed are interlinked and directly related to each other. The target audience for this research includes students suffering from the same academic issues, universities, and even the general public.

Methodology

For my primary research, I used two main qualitative data collection methods due to the variations in the number of respondents; surveys and interviews. I targeted three main research groups; Undergraduates, postgraduates, and educators.

1. Surveys

Both Google Forms and SurveyMonkey are excellent mediums to make and distribute online surveys. The first survey I made on SurveyMonkey was directed towards postgraduates and distributed via my brother, who has access to a large number of postgraduate medical students. The first questions were relatively personal to establish a demographic. The age groups were from 18 to 25 then from 25 to 34. The next questions inferred on whether or not respondents were currently in Sudan, and what universities they attended in Khartoum. The following few questions were in a ‘to what extent’ format so they could be easily and fully answered. For example: ‘If you intended to pursue postgraduate education, to what extent has the war impacted your ability to do so?’.

The second survey targeted undergraduates and used similar demographic information collection; such as what university students attended and whether or not they are still in Sudan. Respondents were encouraged to include as much information as possible, like what year they were in and whether they are currently facing difficulties applying to other universities. The survey was distributed via snowball sampling across social media applications, and forwarded to some of my former classmates whom I know are facing similar disruptions. All the surveys were anonymous and did not collect personal information such as emails, names or phone numbers.
I compiled all of the answers in a spreadsheet and constructed several pie charts and a table to analyze the results.

2. Interviews

I interviewed undergraduate students via texting; by sending them a document containing the 5-6 questions. The questions focused on the stories of the students rather than the technicalities of the war and drew out some of their thoughts on what could be done to improve the situation. Last, I interviewed a Sudanese school principal and owner about her thoughts on the current state of education in Sudan and asked her to share some information about her students, teachers, and employees. The interview was conducted in Arabic, and I translated it into English. In all instances, I sent out consent forms and made sure the information I was getting was ethically sourced by ensuring that respondents were comfortable and willing to share their stories.

To find information using secondary sources, I used the GUQ library database, making use of keywords like ‘higher education’ and ‘war’ to find relevant results. I restricted the publishing date to 2023 to find sources relevant to the current war.

Results

On average, 70% of all respondents have left the country after the war erupted, fleeing to countries like Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Rwanda. The remaining 30% are currently internally displaced and located in other cities in Sudan, such as Port-Sudan and Shendi. Internal and external displacement seems to be a trend across all research groups, due to the war being concentrated in Khartoum, which is where all of the students lived. Universities have tried to relocate to other states in the country, but they ended up charging exorbitant fees to the point where most of the students could not pay. They also tried to start teaching online, but they didn’t take into account that most students are in rural areas with no network or sometimes even electricity.

2 undergraduate survey respondents have expressed their frustrations over the universities’ empty promises of operating online, mentioning that the lack of resources to do so is taking away years from their education: “They keep saying they will start again online but they never have and now, I have no choice but to wait because if I transfer I will lose 3 years of university.”

Certificate acquisition and authentication are nearly impossible due to the destruction of ministries, schools, and universities. 70% of postgraduate respondents have faced difficulties obtaining their degrees, to the point where even those with the financial capabilities of fleeing have little chance of finding jobs relevant to their chosen fields. The following is a survey response:

“I lost most of my documents due to war, finding a job outside Sudan requires you to have a grad certificate and other documents. Markets are saturated, most of us choose to work in GCC countries which have a lot of competition, especially after the russia-ukraine war.”

Undergraduates face similar if not identical issues. 4 of the 15 respondents are not able to acquire their high school or university certificates, which hinders their ability to enroll in other universities. Some students face this even when their universities are still operating. An undergraduate wrote in a survey: “The universities are taking advantage of students by making them pay absurd amounts of money to withdraw their papers.” Others are not able to transfer due to the different admission requirements of other universities, financial stress, and access to education. For most of these students, this means waiting indefinitely for an end to a war that has raged for 8 straight months. In an interview, a Sudanese school principal and owner commented on this:

“Even if the war ends today, the universities won’t operate. The destruction of the infrastructure makes it impossible to start immediately, especially for the scientific institutions because the labs were destroyed and looted. I predict that it would take at least 3 years for higher education to resume in Khartoum.” (Afaf)

Another pattern emerges across all responses, which is the safety and financial concerns that are facing Sudanese civilians. 31% of all groups are living in distressed areas in the country. In an interview, a high school graduate said: “I fear for my safety every time I leave the house, I don’t have time to care about my education right now.” (Mad). The problem of education becomes insignificant when the death toll is still rising. When asked about their plans, 2 undergraduate respondents answered: “To survive”. Financial stress and safety concerns are also a problem for postgraduates, as the ongoing war repercussions have hindered their careers. 6 of 7 respondents selected finance and safety as the main reasons why they can’t resume their postgraduate studies and work.

In terms of future plans, students are less than enthusiastic about their education. Most of the undergraduates I collected information from completed over 2 years of university, and starting over is understandably frustrating to them. Some are diving straight into work having given up on waiting for the war to end, while more fortunate students found chances to resume their studies online or in other countries. Some postgraduates have found jobs abroad, but many are still struggling to resume their careers. Almost all of the respondents and interviewees know more than ten people who are going through the same problems.

“We, as Sudanese people, value education greatly, with the evidence that there are almost 400 private schools in the country. If you go to any GCC country, you’ll find Sudanese doctors, architects, and engineers behind the scenes. Our students are excelling in college entrance exams to the point where they have to place quotas for Sudanese people. As an educator, the wasted potential I see every day is devastating.” (Afaf)

Discussion

The main drivers of the issues facing Sudanese undergraduates and postgraduates are displacement, safety concerns, financial stress, and inability to acquire certificates. Some students were able to relocate. According to a report issued by Voice of America News, an estimated 150 Sudanese students were able to continue their studies in Rwanda, after the Rwandan government opened its doors to the University of Medical Sciences and Technology. However, the previous number of medical students in the university was almost 3,000, leaving behind students without the financial capacity to move to a new country. This highlights the incredibly high fees being charged by universities, and the cost of relocation that have left students behind and paralyzed.

This research mainly targeted people who I knew were negatively affected by the war. I did not seek out those who were able to start elsewhere, posing a research limitation. This might have skewed my results to make them look worse than the true picture. However, secondary research suggests that the situation is as dire as my research shows. Most of the students I interviewed were fortunate enough to flee the country and find relatively stable places. Displaced students in neighboring countries like Egypt and South Sudan live in terrible conditions in comparison. A study published by the Miami: ContentEngine LLC interviewed students in the South Sudan border, where 400,000 people are settling. They were from universities like Omdurman Islamic University and University of Khartoum, similar to the students I interviewed.

Conclusion

This research shows that the war has significantly limited the education and career opportunities of not only those who are still in the country but also those with the financial capability to relocate elsewhere. My research methods gathered data from 3 different but related sources to get a diverse set of answers. The correlation between undergraduates and postgraduates allowed for the exploration of common issues facing both groups from different perspectives. The age groups were diverse; my interviewees were from 18 to 25 to 50 years old.

Future research should focus on the technicalities of providing education to students in war-torn countries. There needs to be accessible education with lower fees. Most of the solutions are in the hands of universities. Universities with different admission requirements can make entrance exams instead of denying students entry, local universities can host students temporarily, they can invest in opening new campuses in other cities in Sudan, and provide easier online courses with recorded lectures that can be accessed at any time. In addition, the Sudanese people need more international attention, more donations, and more awareness of the countries directly contributing to the continuation of the war.

Bibliography

Afaf In an interview with Noon. In person, December 11th.
Hakizuwera, Edward Rwema Eric Bagiruwubusa Fulgence. “Medical Students from War-Torn Sudan Find Hope in Rwanda.” Voice of America News / FIND. Washington, United States: Federal Information & News Dispatch, LLC, August 9, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2847982259/citation/7871AC5F7014314PQ/1.
LLC, Translated by Content Engine. “From College to Refugee Camp: War in Sudan Kills Thousands of University Students’ Careers.” CE Noticias Financieras, English Ed., December 6, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2899279194/citation/DF34A3F951084720PQ/1.
———. “More than a Hundred Higher Education Institutions Sabotaged by War in Sudan.” CE Noticias Financieras, English Ed., August 28, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2858617140/citation/AAB090CBCE1A4EDCPQ/1.
Mad [pseud.]. In an interview with Noon. Text messages, December 12th.
Skye [pseud.]. In an interview with Noon. Text messages, November 30.
“Sudan,” December 7, 2023. https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/.
“Sudan Unrest: What Are the Rapid Support Forces? | News | Al Jazeera.” Accessed December 11, 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/16/sudan-unrest-what-is-the-rapid-support-forces.

Appendix A: Undergraduate Survey Questions
1. Are you currently in Sudan?
2. How long have you been in university/when were you planning to start?
3. What is the main reason for the disruption of your education?
4. Have you faced difficulties enrolling in other universities, and why?
5. What are your current plans in terms of education?
6. Do you know others who are in the same situation as you? If so, how many?
7. Would you like to share any other relevant information about this topic?

Appendix B: Postgraduate Survey Questions
1. What is your age?
2. Are you currently in Sudan? (If not, please specify when you left)
3. What Sudanese University did you attend?
4. Has the war impacted your ability to obtain a job? If so, how?
5. To what extent has the war impacted your current/future career?
6. Have you faced any difficulties obtaining your degree(s)?
7. If you intended to pursue postgraduate education, to what extent has the war impacted your ability to do so?
8. How, specifically, has the war impacted your education/career?
9. Do you know others who are in the same situation as you? If so, how many?
10. Would you like to share any other relevant information about this topic?

Appendix C: Undergraduate Interview Questions
1. What university did you go to, did you like it there?
2. What major were you planning to obtain?
3. What was your university life like before the war?
4. Where were you when the war erupted?
5. How did you manage to leave the country/the capital?
6. What is the current detailed state of your education?
7. What do you think can be done to help you and others going through the same situation?

Appendix D: School Principal Interview Questions
1. As an educator, what is your perception of the impact of the war on undergraduates?
2. What do you think the universities in Khartoum can do to improve the current situation?
3. What happened to the last year highschool students in your school?
4. What can the general public and the rest of the world do to solve this?
5. What is your hope for the future in terms of education in Sudan?
6. Talk to me about the medical students who went to Egypt.
7. What is your perception of the potential of the Sudanese youth?