Sudanese students in Egypt face an uncertain future, after the Egyptian government took decisions to close Sudanese schools due to their “non-compliance” with the procedures for obtaining work permits.
In light of the circumstances faced by the Sudanese who have arrived in Egypt in large numbers since the start of the war in April 2023, families and owners of damaged Sudanese schools have appealed to officials in Egypt to find alternative solutions to provide assistance to these students, in order to complete their educational path.
Earlier this month, the Cultural Counsellor of the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo issued a notice to Sudanese school owners and families, stating that the Egyptian educational authorities have not yet approved Sudanese schools to practice educational activity.
The Chancellery explained, in a statement, that no official decision has been issued by the Federal Ministry of Education in Sudan regarding the academic calendar for Sudanese schools in Egypt.
It called on school owners to fully adhere to and respect the sovereignty and decisions of the host country, Egypt.
She indicated that school closures are still in effect. None of the Sudanese schools obtained a license from the Egyptian authorities to resume studies.
The Chancellery also called on Sudanese families to slow down the registration process for the new academic year, and not to pay fees at all.
But the Sudanese woman, Umm Khaled, told Al-Hurra TV that she was displaced to Egypt with four children, adding that “two of them are in middle school, and two are in high school.”
She continued: “I registered them in Sudanese schools and paid all the money I had. Currently, these schools have been closed, and I do not know how I will continue their education, because I basically do not work and have cancer.”
Last June, the Egyptian authorities closed a number of Sudanese schools, until they met the legal requirements for practicing educational activity.
The Egyptian authorities oblige Sudanese schools located on their territory to conditions, including obtaining approval from the Sudanese Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs, and approval from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in addition to the necessity of providing a suitable headquarters for the school, commensurate with all educational aspects.
No license to operate… a directive to “fully comply” with Sudanese schools in Egypt
The Cultural Counsellor of the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo issued a notice to Sudanese school owners and families in the country, stating that the Egyptian educational authorities have not yet approved Sudanese schools to practice educational activity.
The conditions also include attaching data related to the school owner, a request from the school owner to the cultural advisor at the Sudanese embassy, in addition to a file containing the educational stages and the number of students expected to be registered.
For her part, the director of one of the Sudanese educational centers, Ghada Nasser, told Al-Hurra TV: “We are teachers first and foremost with a message, and our first goal is to present the message to our children, and we ask them to simplify the procedures and allow the children to learn.”
Since the outbreak of the war, figures from the United Nations International Organization for Migration revealed that more than two million Sudanese have sought refuge in neighboring countries, most of them in Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. The latter hosts more than half a million refugees.
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