CRN News Desk| Thousands of children in Sudan’s El Obeid are facing disruptions to their education as schools repeatedly suspend classes because of drones flying overhead, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
NRC Sudan Country Director Shashwat Saraf said teachers in the North Kordofan capital are being forced to halt lessons whenever drones are detected, leaving children to pursue their education amid continuing insecurity.
“I visited a school where teachers told me they are being forced to regularly suspend lessons as a result of drones flying overhead,” Saraf said.
“It is an outrage that children should experience such things when simply trying to get education: they should not have to be brave just to attend school.”
NRC-supported learning centres in El Obeid have enrolled more than 5,500 pupils, while many other families are still seeking places for their children. Working with the Alsalam Organisation for Rehabilitation and Development (AORD), NRC is helping children catch up on missed education and cope with fear and stress caused by the conflict.
According to NRC, drones have repeatedly struck civilian sites in El Obeid in recent weeks, including a university dormitory, a shelter housing displaced families and warehouses in Sheikan locality containing more than 330,000 textbooks.
El Obeid is home to more than half a million people, including tens of thousands displaced by fighting in other parts of Kordofan and Sudan.
“The places where people sleep have been hit from the air, and so have the books children need to learn,” Saraf said. “Each attack leaves families wondering what will be hit next.”
He said displaced families are also struggling with rising prices and inadequate access to clean water, sanitation and shelter.
At a girls’ school supported by NRC, about 1,200 students are enrolled but only three classrooms are currently available for use. NRC has constructed two additional classrooms and toilets, supplied learning materials and trained teachers to support children affected by the conflict.
“Children are willing, teachers are willing, parents are willing. What they are missing is the certainty that a school day can simply be a school day, without listening for drones or wondering when lessons might have to stop,” Saraf said.
NRC said it has provided cash assistance to 4,000 households in El Obeid and distributed 3,000 hygiene and shelter kits containing items such as blankets, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, jerrycans and solar lamps.
The organisation is seeking $7.1 million for a 12-month response plan aimed at reaching 107,000 people in El Obeid. NRC said 65 percent of the required funding remains unmet.
Saraf called on parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, homes, shelters and markets, and urged donors to increase funding for education, water and shelter assistance.
“Attacks on civilians and the infrastructure they rely upon are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” he said. “The parties to this war must protect schools, homes, shelters and markets, and keep military assets away from civilian areas.”