Orbits: Build Forward Better and Differently

Muawad Rashid

Introduction:
Last year Save the Children published the Build Forward Better report purposefully using this title in recognition that we should not limit our to building back to how things were before the pandemic, but to build forward better and differently. In that report the first iteration of the Risks to Education index was published ranking countries by the vulnerability of their school system to hazards and deficiencies in preparedness. This enabled for making a holistic view of the risks to education and suggested which national education systems required increased resources from national actors to mitigate existing and prevent future crises.
The Risks of Education Index demonstrates that education is in an unprecedented crisis. Only by ambitious global leadership will it be resolved. Governments should take RAPID action to avert a learning catastrophe:
Reach and retain every child in school.
Access learning levels
Prioritize teaching the fundamentals
Increase catch-up learning and progress beyond what was lost.
Develop mental health and psychosocial wellbeing so every child is ready to learn
Donors must invest in Education Cannot Wait.
On the other hand a Press Release issued last month by Save the Children/UNICEF said that approximately 6.9 million girls and boys, one in three school-aged children, do not go to school in Sudan, and a further 12 million will have their school years heavily interrupted by a lack of sufficient teachers, infrastructure and an enabling learning environment to make them reach their full potential.
School is more than just a learning space for children. Beyond reading, writing and mathematics, children learn social and emotional skills, play in a safe environment, and have access to other critical services. Schools protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse, exploitation, and recruitment into armed groups. They offer psychosocial support, giving children stability and structure in a volatile environment. For many children in Sudan, education is lifesaving!
With the exacerbating socio-economic situation, recurring conflicts, and prolonged COVID-19 school closures, once children drop out of school, the chances of girls and boys returning to school are low. Girls are especially vulnerable, evidence suggests that the economic crisis is deepening gender inequalities in Sudan, especially among adolescent girls.
To prevent further learning loss, reopening of schools, and offering alternative education opportunities for children who missed many years of school is a top priority.
Moreover, globally, due to the worst shock to education and learning in recorded history, learning poverty has increased by a third in low-and middle-income countries.
This generation of students now risks losing US$21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings in present value, or the equivalent of 17 % of today’s global GDP.
No country can afford to have one-third of its school-age children with no basic literacy, numeracy, or digital skills. Education is not just a right – it is also a lifeline.
Without urgent action, the learning crisis in Sudan will become a generational catastrophe.
UNICEF and Save the Children – as co-leads of the international education cluster in Sudan – call on the government of Sudan to reopen schools open for the entire academic year, ensure no schools are occupied by armed actors, and facilitate additional alternative education opportunities to make sure no child is left behind.
UNICEF and save the Children statement urged all stakeholders – foremost the government – to ensure sufficient funding for education is available, including for teacher salaries and school feeding programmes.
Education is a win-win investment: Improving access to and quality of education is key for the development of children and countries.

Sudan’s Educational System and Proposed Solutions:
The educational system in Sudan is facing enormous challenges including:
Political and social problems
Economic crisis.
Population density
The above challenges have its impact on the educational process in its aspects represented by:
The apparent weakness in the teaching staff.
The school environment
The laboratories
The places for practicing the activities by the students
The widespread of private schools
The educational and school administration
The lack of social participation
The syllabus
The educational ladder

University Education:
In the past the consternation was on the quality but nowadays the concentration is on the quantity a matter that had its negative impact represented by:
The decline in university education.
The graduation of several specializations which are not required by the community or the work market.
Acquiring a university degree has become a goal for itself.
Education is no more meant by itself.
The emergence of profitable universities which do not have any interest in the educational goals.
Conclusion:
It is high time for rehabilitation and development of the universities to enable it play its role represented by graduating capable competencies to meet the demands of the international market and coping with the international economy without affecting the national and sovereign constants.