A tool to implement political agendas

The Sudanese authorities announced that the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams will be held today, Saturday, in areas under the Sudanese Army’s control, while more than (60%) of students living in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are deprived from the opportunity to take the exams.

Despite the authorities’ decision to hold exams in areas controlled by the Sudanese Army, in some cities students didn’t receive their exam papers, and others weren’t assigned any seating numbers in a number of centers inside and outside Sudan.

Dividing the Country

The authorities in the cities of (En-Nahud) and (Dilling) in Kordofan -both cities are under the Army’s control- announced that the exams wouldn’t be held on time (Saturday), and informed the students that they need to prepare to take the exams next March, in an act of utter disregard of the journeys said students made from geographically distant areas to arrive in the two aforementioned cities, in order to take the exams.

The Sudanese Teachers Committee criticized the authorities’ insistence on holding the exams, despite repeated warnings that it would lead to invoking a sense of division throughout the country.

In a statement on Friday, a copy of which was received by (Erem News), the Committee accused the de facto government of exceeding the proper limits in its insistence on dragging the country into a quagmire that will naturally prove to be too difficult to survive.

The Teachers Committee confirmed that -out of (18) states in Sudan- the exams will be held while all students in (8) Sudanese states are deprived from the opportunity to take the exams. Additionally, in (3) different states, the overwhelming majority of students are deprived from the opportunity, and only a number of students will able to take it in (3) states in Sudan. Which indicates that at least (60%) of Sudanese students will be deprived from the opportunity of taking the exams.

Confusion and Arbitrary Behavior

The statement referred to what it described as “confusion and arbitrary behavior” in regards to the process of preparing for these exams, which -naturally- resulted in a large number of students not being granted seating numbers in (Karari) locality. In addition, the authorities announced that exams wouldn’t be held in (En-Nahud) and (Dilling) localities as well as in the Republic of Chad at the very last minute.

The statement pointed out that this behavior conveys a blatant act of bias and favoritism in regards to choosing senior supervisors, as some of the individuals entrusted with this duty have never worked as teachers before, not even for a day.

“The aforementioned information only confirms the proposed hypothesis of the exams being utilized as a tool to establish the reality of the war, instead of being a step aimed at furthering the educational process.” according to the statement.

The statement held the de facto government fully responsible for any consequences that would result from the government’s insistence on holding the exams in such a manner, without adhering to the conditions of justice and inclusiveness, and to the safety procedures for teachers and students.

“The exams are a danger to students and teachers during their holding, and a danger to Sudan after,” the statement added.

SAF Practices Colonialism Policy

The government had previously announced that the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams would be held exclusively in areas controlled by the Sudanese Army, which -in turn- means that students in Darfur and parts of Kordofan, Khartoum and Al-Jazeera states will find themselves unaccounted for in regards to the educational process.

These measures were widely rejected by various sectors, as they were considered to be political decisions that would lead to the division of Sudan, however, the Sudanese authorities didn’t pay any attention to these concerns and insisted on holding the exams.

The Rapid Support Forces had announced their refusal of the prospect of holding the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams in accordance with the authorities’ announcement, and considered that the measures taken fall within the framework of negative discrimination approach and encouraging societal division, indicating that the “Port Sudan group” is using education as a tool to implement its political agenda.

The statement emphasized that holding Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams in specific areas throughout the country is a precedent in the history of Sudan, and is similar to the imposed policy of isolated areas.

The statement added that the authorities chose to manipulate the fate of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese students in various regions across the country, despite warnings from the relevant educational authorities.