Ahmed Babikir Ahmed Minister of Education

 

The theme of the conference touches our hearts and souls. We are in a state of constant endeavor to provide the kind of education that transforms our planet into a homely place to live in.

Our attitude towards change which is not only acceptable but it is in fact desirable is quite positive. Our challenge is how to make it achievable in our present context as an emerging country from a devastating three-decade civil war, aggravated by natural disasters which resulted in the escalation of poverty, displacement and the depletion of the meager resources. Moreover external debt and the deprivation from external support which jeoperdised Sudan’s assiduous efforts to meet its obligation towards providing quality basic education and other social services. Worn out and left impoverished, Sudan has a strong will for change. Hoping that the inaccessibility of modern technology and its meagre resources at present, Sudan will not be inhibited from adapting to change for the better.

Our vision of quality education is that of a complete school environment in terms of inputs. Such an environment should be attractive to the learner by providing him or her with a curriculum which is characterized by the following:

1. Gender sensitive
2. Responsive to the needs of the learner and the society
3. Imparting life skills.
4. Enhancing learning to adapt to constant change

As mentioned earlier, the civil war has caused a great damage to education infrastructure. With only 59.4% enrollment at the basic level and 22.4% at the secondary level, Sudan has a long way to go in order to keep pace with a fast changing and converging contemporary world.

Despite all constraints, Sudan is still tolerant multiracial, multicultural and multilingual cohesive society. Building on this fact, Sudan is exerting real efforts to achieve social cohesion through the provision of adequate educational opportunities for more than 2 million out of school youth to access relevant quality education. Education will enable them to continue their further education and to prepare them for life and to equip them with the necessary tools for a lifelong education.

All the above mentioned efforts to achieve quality education for children and youth remain vain attempts without due attention to adult and teacher education. We are quite convinced that direct investment in adult education is indirect investment in children’s education and their success and advancement in education and life. Particularly, the education of women and girls forms the larger percentage of the illiterates and whose input in the education and continuity of the children is more effective.

Adult education is a national concern in the Sudan. It is supported by a national council for formulating policies and raising funds. The civil society also contributes to the achievement of literacy among youth and adults.

Despite all exerted efforts in adult education in the country, yet the literacy rates are still low if compared to the rest of the world (52.5%). However, an ambitious plan is being implemented to achieve literacy among adults by 1010.

The constantly changing and demanding role of the teacher and the teaching profession will remain an attendant challenge in our quest for quality education for our children and youth.
Efforts are continually undertaken to make use of available technology in distance teaching to provide for a badly needed mass teaching force. A new approach of on the job training has been adopted to enhance the teaching profession throughout 73 teacher training institutes all over the country.

Our aspiration is to provide the kind of teacher who is responsive to change and able to manipulate use of modern technology and to prepare his students for a constantly changing world. It remains a great challenge for higher research and teacher education institutions to provide the kind of teacher we aspire for.

Like any other LDC’s the national efforts are in great need for external support so as to be able to meet our national and international commitments in the field of education . We hope that MDG goal on international partnership could receive the attention it deserves.