At least 75% of school-aged children in Sudan are no longer attending classes, according to a new report by Save the Children, which describes the situation as one of the world’s worst education crises.
The NGO estimates that 13 million out of Sudan’s 17 million children are currently out of school. This figure includes 7 million children who were once enrolled but can no longer access education because of the war or forced displacement, as well as 6 million who were never enrolled.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and devastated vital infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
A newspaper stand with signs of heavy gunfire during a tour with Sudanese journalist Shamael Elnoor (not pictured), who returned to the ruins of a once-vibrant area housing newspaper publishing offices, highlighting concerns over an industry paralysed by the ongoing war, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, August 23, 2025. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
“Unless the conflict ends, millions of children may never return to school, leaving them exposed to forced displacement, recruitment into armed groups, and sexual violence,” warned Mohamed Abdilatif, director of Save the Children’s Sudan office.
A recent UN investigation also reported cases of forced marriages of girls as young as 12, sometimes under threats to their families’ lives.
Children who dropped out have now lost more than two years of education, the report notes. Even before the current war, nearly 7 million Sudanese children were already out of school due to poverty and instability.
Al-Rasheed Al-Tahir, a displaced Sudanese man who is reunited with his sisters, nephews and nieces, wipes the tears of his deceased sister’s daughter, after the family fled the war-torn al-Fashir city, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates amid the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, at a displacement camp in Al Dabba, Sudan, September 6, 2025. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
Some signs of recovery have emerged in areas where relative calm has returned. Nearly half of the country’s schools have reopened in recent months, allowing around 4 million children to resume classes. In Khartoum, the army regained control earlier this year, and nearly 2 million displaced people have returned home since late 2024, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Still, the overall humanitarian crisis remains severe. The UN estimates nearly 10 million people are displaced within Sudan, while 4 million more have fled abroad as refugees.
