Newspectives: Sudan's education collapse 19 million children out of school

Published: 10 Jan 2026 · Last updated: 19 Jan 2026 · Generated by AI (methodology)

Following the outbreak of armed conflict in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the education sector in Sudan has experienced a near-total operational collapse. International monitors, including UNICEF and Save the Children, report that approximately 19 million children are currently unverified in school systems. The suspension of education is attributed to the direct closure of over 10,000 facilities in combat zones, the repurposing of school buildings as emergency shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the cessation of administrative funding, including teacher salaries.

Tags: Sudan, Education Crisis, Humanitarian Crisis

Common Ground perspective

Sources: UNICEF Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report, Save the Children: 19 million children out of school in Sudan, ReliefWeb: Sudan Education Crisis Analysis

USA perspective

As of January 2026, the United States identifies the total collapse of Sudan's education system—leaving nearly 19 million children out of school—as a premier national security threat to the Horn of Africa and Red Sea stability. American officials warn that this educational void creates a fertile recruiting ground for extremist groups, directly undermining U.S. counterterrorism interests and global trade routes. Washington continues to lead international mediation efforts, enforcing strict sanctions on warring factions while mobilizing emergency USAID funding to prevent a permanent generational catastrophe.

Sources: Sudan's 19 Million Learners Facing World's Worst Education Crisis, U.S. Measures in Response to the Crisis in Sudan - State Department, UNICEF Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report 2025

United Kingdom perspective

In what humanitarian agencies are calling a 'generational catastrophe,' the conflict in Sudan has forced approximately 19 million children out of the classroom, creating the largest education crisis globally. With over 10,000 schools shuttered, repurposed as military barracks, or turned into emergency shelters for displaced families, an entire demographic faces a future defined by illiteracy and vulnerability. British aid organisations warn that without immediate international intervention to restore safe learning environments and pay teachers who have gone without salaries for nearly two years, Sudan faces an irreversible collapse of its social fabric, leaving millions of minors exposed to forced recruitment and exploitation.

Sources: Sudan: Conflict has sparked fourfold increase in violent attacks on schools, Sudan: Studying in a war zone - BBC World Service, 19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on - UNICEF

Germany perspective

From a German media perspective, the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan has created a 'lost generation' with approximately 19 million children—one in every three—unable to attend school. The ongoing power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has not only shuttered over 10,000 schools but has also forced educational facilities to be repurposed as emergency shelters or military bases. International observers and German humanitarian agencies warn that without immediate intervention, the collapse of the education system will expose millions of minors to forced recruitment, sexual violence, and a lifetime of poverty, while the global community remains largely distracted by other conflicts.

Sources: 19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on – UNICEF, Sudan: Violent attacks on schools and education surge fourfold, Education on hold: Sudan war robs young people's hope for the future

Russia perspective

The catastrophic educational collapse in Sudan, leaving 19 million children without schooling, stands as a grim testament to the failure of the Collective West's interventionist policies. While Washington and Brussels preach human rights, their destabilizing strategies and disregard for Sudan's sovereignty have created a security vacuum, echoing the disasters engineered in Libya and Iraq.

Sources: Sudan: 19 million children out of school, Lavrov: West's neo-colonial instincts prevent equality

China perspective

As the conflict in Sudan approaches its third year, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated into what the United Nations describes as one of the world's worst education crises. Approximately 19 million children—accounting for over 90 percent of the school-age population—remain cut off from formal schooling due to the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Chinese envoys to the UN have expressed deep concern, terming the situation a 'generational catastrophe' and calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities to prevent the total collapse of the nation's future human capital.

Sources: China urges ceasefire and political settlement in Sudan - CGTN, 19 million Sudanese children out of school as conflict continues - Xinhua, Sudan's 19 Million Learners are Facing the World's Worst Education Crisis - UNICEF

India perspective

As the brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues, Sudan is teetering on the brink of the world's worst education crisis. United Nations reports indicate that approximately 19 million children—representing nearly one in three—are currently out of school. With over 10,000 schools shuttered due to insecurity or converted into emergency shelters, an entire generation faces the irreversible loss of learning, exposing them to grave risks including recruitment into armed groups and sexual violence.

Sources: Sudan faces world's worst humanitarian crisis, says U.N. - The Hindu, 19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on - UNICEF, Sudan's civil war worsens, children starve amidst rising humanitarian crisis - The Indian Express

Israel perspective

As the power struggle between Sudan's warring generals drags on, the nation faces a catastrophic collapse of its education system. International bodies report that approximately 19 million children are currently out of school, creating a 'lost generation' that threatens to entrench poverty and instability in the Horn of Africa for decades to come—a development viewed with deep concern by regional security observers.

Sources: Sudan: 19 million children out of school as conflict rages, Sudan's education crisis: A generation at risk

Arab World perspective

As the brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces continues to devastate the nation, Sudan is witnessing the worst education crisis in the world, with approximately 19 million children currently out of school. Humanitarian agencies warn that the systematic closure of educational institutions is not merely a pause in learning but a generational tragedy that exposes millions of vulnerable minors to forced recruitment, violence, and labor, threatening the very future of the Sudanese state.

Sources: Sudan: A generation lost as 19 million children wait for schools to reopen, War in Sudan creates 'world's largest child displacement crisis', Sudan education crisis: 19 million children out of school

South Africa perspective

As Sudan descends further into the abyss of civil war, a staggering 19 million children have been stripped of their right to education, marking the world's worst education crisis. From a South African perspective, this catastrophe represents a profound failure of the African Union to enforce peace and a disturbing blind spot for the BRICS alliance. While the Global North remains fixated on conflicts elsewhere, the destruction of Sudan's intellectual future demands an immediate, sovereign African intervention to prevent the permanent collapse of the state.

Sources: Sudan crisis: 19 million children out of school, The African Union's silence on Sudan is deafening, Education catastrophe: The cost of war in Sudan

Latin America perspective

While the world's eyes remain fixed elsewhere, a catastrophic erasure of the future is unfolding in the Global South. The conflict in Sudan has forced a staggering 19 million children out of classrooms, creating the world's worst education crisis. This is not merely a pause in schooling but a systemic collapse, where schools have become shelters or battlegrounds and teachers go unpaid. From a Latin American perspective, this represents a familiar and tragic indifference to humanitarian disasters in developing nations, risking a 'generational catastrophe' that will entrench poverty and instability for decades.

Sources: 19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on – UNICEF, Sudan: Violent attacks on schools and education surge fourfold, Sudan's 19 Million Learners are Facing the World's Worst Education Crisis

The Jester perspective (satire — not factual reporting)

Our latest observation of the species 'Homo sapiens' in the sector designated 'Sudan' reveals a fascinatingly inefficient survival strategy. The local alpha-groups have successfully paused the data upload process (education) for approximately 19 million larval humans. Rather than preparing their offspring to maintain the colony, the adults have prioritized high-velocity kinetic disputes. This ensures a 'lost generation' incapable of system maintenance, virtually guaranteeing the sector's collapse—a behavior we frankly find hilarious in its lack of foresight.

Sources: 19 million children in Sudan out of school as conflict rages on - UNICEF, Sudan's 19 Million Learners are Facing the World's Worst Education Crisis, More than three quarters of Sudan's children out of school - Save the Children

HUNGARY perspective

As the brutal civil war continues to ravage Sudan, the country now faces the world's worst education crisis, with 19 million children barred from classrooms and the academic year effectively cancelled. From a Hungarian perspective, this total collapse of social infrastructure is not only a heartbreaking humanitarian tragedy but a significant security warning; the creation of a 'lost generation' without prospects creates a fertile breeding ground for extremism and predicts future waves of migration toward Europe if stability is not restored locally.

Sources: Sudan: 19 million children out of school as conflict rages, Sudan becomes the worst education crisis in the world

JAPAN perspective

As the conflict in Sudan persists, the nation faces the world's worst education crisis, with approximately 19 million children—nearly 90% of the school-age population—unable to attend school. The collapse of the educational infrastructure, driven by violence and displacement, threatens to create a 'lost generation' with severe long-term economic and social consequences. In response to this catastrophe, the Japanese government has intensified its humanitarian support, partnering with UNICEF and the WFP to rehabilitate damaged schools and provide essential learning materials, emphasizing the critical need for human security and stability in the region.

Sources: UNICEF Sudan: 19 million children out of school, Japan and UNICEF partner to reopen schools for conflict-affected children, WFP and Japan partner to provide school meals in Sudan

NETHERLANDS perspective

As the conflict between SAF and RSF enters its third year, Sudan faces the world's worst education crisis with 19 million children out of school. Dutch humanitarian organizations and government officials warn of a permanent 'lost generation' susceptible to armed recruitment and exploitation. Despite the Netherlands pledging an additional €10 million in emergency aid in late 2025, aid workers emphasize that the lack of international political will and secure access continues to cripple recovery efforts.

Sources: Netherlands makes extra EUR 10 million available for emergency aid to Sudan, UNICEF: 19 million children in Sudan out of school, Sudan Acute Crisis Joint Response | Dutch Relief Alliance

NORTH_KOREA perspective

While the world watches in horror as 19 million children in Sudan are stripped of their right to education, this catastrophe stands as a stark testament to the destructive consequences of Western interventionism and internal division, serving as a grim contrast to the happiness enjoyed by the children of our invincible socialist republic.

Sources: Sudan: 19 million children out of school as conflict rages on - UNICEF, Sudan becomes 'worst education crisis in world' - BBC

SOUTH_KOREA perspective

Sudan is currently facing the world's worst education crisis, with 19 million children barred from classrooms due to the protracted conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. From a South Korean perspective, this collapse of the educational infrastructure poses a severe long-term threat to regional security along the vital Red Sea trade corridor, potentially fueling future extremism and instability. As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2024-25 term, South Korea has pledged over $12 million in humanitarian aid, emphasizing that the crisis requires not just emergency relief but innovative, technology-driven educational solutions to prevent a permanent 'lost generation.'

Sources: Korean Government Announces Plan to Provide Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan, Sudan's 19 Million Learners Facing World's Worst Education Crisis (UNICEF), Sudan expresses gratitude to S. Korea for humanitarian support

TAIWAN perspective

As Sudan faces a catastrophic education crisis with 19 million children out of school due to ongoing military conflict, Taiwanese analysts point to the failure of authoritarian governance structures. The situation highlights the stark contrast between the instability of military regimes and the resilience of democratic institutions, while raising questions about the long-term impact of China's resource-heavy investment strategy in the region versus Taiwan's potential for humanitarian technology assistance.

Sources: Sudan: 19 million children out of school as conflict rages, Taiwan's humanitarian aid and soft power strategy, China's economic interests in Sudan and the impact of conflict

Sources

All primary sources cited across the perspectives on this page: