Polls Indicate Widespread Sudanese Dissatisfaction with Sudan’s Education System

Omdurman – Sudanhorizon
A public opinion poll conducted by the Arab Experts Center for Press Services and Public Opinion Studies, both inside and outside Sudan, on school curricula in Sudan, has shown widespread dissatisfaction among Sudanese families with the current curricula.
The Arab Experts Center for Press Services and Public Opinion Studies conducted the public opinion poll on school curricula and their impact on scientific and practical integration, building awareness, and consolidating national values in Sudan. The poll garnered 89,023 participants, representing diverse segments of the population, including citizens, parents, teachers, students, and educational affairs stakeholders.
The survey results, obtained by Sudanhorizon, indicated that 69.2% believe the current curricula are weaker compared to those of previous years, while 17.9% saw no change.
When participants were asked whether the curricula had been used since 2019 as a tool for ideological change rather than purely educational means, 70.9% answered yes, 13.5% no, and 15.6% said they didn’t know. Similarly, 82.8% confirmed that the ideological and intellectual backgrounds of those in charge influence the choice of curriculum vocabulary and titles.
Regarding the volume of curriculum content, 46.7% considered it cluttered and unhelpful, 42% said it tended towards padding
When participants were asked whether the curricula needed development, 83.8% answered that they needed comprehensive development, while 13.8% believed they needed partial revision. Regarding development priorities, when participants were given the freedom to choose more than one answer, 73.5% opted for linking education to practical life, 72.6% favored strengthening national values, 68.4% preferred skills development, 59.3% chose modernizing teaching methods, and 50.7% opted for reducing unnecessary content.
Within the framework of the open-ended question, which allowed participants to freely express their opinions and observations, a number of qualitative observations emerged, reflecting the depth of societal concern regarding the current curriculum. A large number of participants criticized the teaching methods associated with the curriculum, deeming them rigid and traditional, emptying the content of its essence and transforming the educational process into rote memorization that neither cultivates critical thinking nor fosters awareness. They emphasized that students are pushed to memorize for the sake of exams, rather than to understand for the sake of life.
Concerning national education, opinions were even more explicit; many indicated that the nationalistic content and spiritual and cultural nourishment in the current curriculum are weak and inadequate, failing to cultivate genuine belonging. Some participants went so far as to say that the curricula were designed in earlier stages to instill ideas linked to specific parties or ideologies, rather than serving as a unifying national framework transcending narrow affiliations. This accusation reflects a deep crisis of confidence in the neutrality of the curriculum.
More explicitly, several participants emphasized that the biggest mistake lies in linking the curricula to the state’s policies of change. They argued that education is not an arena for reshaping consciousness according to whoever is in power, but rather a system that must be constant and stable, contributing to the creation of generations capable of developing and advancing the nation, far removed from the fluctuations of politics and power struggles. In their view, education should be above governments, not subservient to them.
The participants also explicitly called for the revitalization of technical and vocational education and for its serious promotion, stressing that the country needs not just holders of theoretical degrees, but a practical and productive generation with real skills that contribute to building and development.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=11438