THE LANDSCAPE OF POSSIBILITIES: EDUCATION IN A “NEW SUDAN” (original) (raw)
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REFLECTIONS ON THE STRUGGLE FOR GIRLS' EDUCATION IN SUDAN
This chapter represents my own work and reflections as a scholar born, trained and working in the Global South, and as suggested by Hale in the above quote the work that I discuss here may not necessarily portray the assumptions of scholars in the Global North of what feminist research is and how it is conducted. Despite this I argue that my own work and the work of Ahfad University for Women, in Sudan, where I am employed, represents the issues that scholars and institutions are addressing in terms of gender/women’s studies in the Global South and as such we “have made great strides in documenting and theorizing these social processes, leading to bold and insightful intellectual advances” (Hale, 2009, p. 136).
"In Transit/ion: Sudanese students' resettlement, pedagogy and material conditions"
2013
In the second part of this special issue on neoliberalism, pedagogy and curriculum, I explore the contributions of each author to confronting neo-liberal reforms of education, notably the spectre of neo-liberalism haunting aspects of pedagogy, teaching and curriculum. Exemplary of the scholarly work produced by many critical educators, the contributing authors share an understanding of the oppressive function of educational apparatuses and their complicity with the reproduction of dominant epistemes of knowledge/power. In this case, neo-liberalism is defined as a canonical narrative through which existing education relations, practices and discourses are structured and mediated. Against this neo-liberal imaginary, the authors argue in favour of models of knowing, learning and teaching that work to sustain practices of critical inquiry and self-discovery among learners as active, reflexive and engaged subjects. The result is a timely collection of papers critiquing the nuances pertaining to the global transmission of neo-liberal education and a much--needed reinvigoration of the Freirean demand for a liberating and critical pedagogy.
The subordination or marginalization, in spite of lip service, frequently paid to education in the processes of State and nation building is a common feature and source of controversies that characterize education policies, especially in the Third World and societies on transition. Political changes or systemic collapses coupled with internal dissatisfaction with the status quo of education systems in response to the internal realities usually create conditions that make possible the refashioning and search for examples of successful approaches elsewhere. However, in South Sudan, the implications of the historical external and internal realities including political, social, and economic realities among others, and the intervention of a great variety of multilateral, bilateral, and non-governmental organizations, make this process more complex. The aims and objectives of the study are to examine and reassess the conceptions held and competing modes applied for the formulation and implementation of education policy in South Sudan, means of interaction between education policy makers and implementers on the one hand, and between external actors and internal actors on the other, the impact of these processes on the State and nation building, and to analyze the translation of both the agency and local policies into practice in this setting. The overall purpose is to evaluate and reflect on the value given to education in general and the role of education in State and nation building in particular for the newly independent country.
In Casciarri, Barbara, Assal, Munzoul and Ireton, François, eds., 2015. Multidimensional Change in Sudan (1989-2011): Reshaping Livelihoods, Conflicts, and Identities. Oxford, Berghahn Books, p. 302-319., 2015
The last decade has witnessed the proliferation of discourses on globalization, both by critics and apologists, in political, economic and academic forums all over the world. In Arabic-speaking countries, intellectuals and writers have engaged in journalistic and scholarly debates about what is perceived as an unfolding, inevitable process, carrying a range of challenges and opportunities. Often considered a periphery in the Arab world, the Sudan has not remained outside these discussions on ʿawlama (Arabic term for globalization). Drawing upon Frederick Cooper's heuristic distinction between indigenous categories and analytical categories, this article investigates how Sudanese scholars of education and state officials have used and conceptualized globalization in recent academic research and publications by government bodies, including the National Center for Curriculum and Educational Research and the Ministry of General Education. What does ʿawlama refer to and what functions does it fulfil in Sudanese public debates? The study highlights connections between globalization and colonialism (istiʿmār), two important discursive resources that have been mobilized to support state policies and promote educational reforms. At first sight, their ideological use looks very similar, insofar as both terms are central to discourses denouncing, or warning against, foreign threats and cultural invasion. However, a closer enquiry shows that intellectual assessments of developments labelled as colonialism or globalization are much more ambivalent. History textbooks for secondary grades quite inconsistently depict colonialism at once as an abstract “abominable” phenomenon and as a set of concrete British policies whose overall impact was not entirely negative. Moreover, the adjective “imperialist” serves to discredit European countries that are also referred to as “advanced nations” in other instances. Globalization is alternatively or simultaneously conceived as a mixture of technological revolution, cultural imposition and economic competition, an ongoing process which currently challenges the Sudanese educational system and Sudanese society as a whole. Some scholars stress the secularization aspect of globalization, seeing it as a threat to Sudanese culture, whereas others address the “global” issue of human rights, advocating new pedagogic initiatives in this field. The latest information and communication technologies are frequently praised by enthusiastic proponents of curricula Islamization. In contrast with recent studies on the Sudanese educational system and discourse, this research seeks to explore the multiplicity of perspectives, the educational dilemmas and the ideological contradictions within scholarly works and history schoolbooks produced in the Sudan during the last decade. The state's authoritarian character and the “Islamist” orientation of the current ruling elite do not automatically entail a single, unified, “pro-NIF” discourse in the educational sphere. In addition, the actual impact of textbook contents as “weapons of mass instruction” should be relativized in the light of increased access to other sources of information and knowledge, such as radio broadcasts, television programs, and the World Wide Web. It is all the more crucial to point out at the plurality of Northern Sudanese voices at this critical juncture in Sudanese history, when fierce “wars of visions” and harsh competition for political and economic resources may well translate into a regional reconfiguration of power with the establishment of two separate Sudanese states after 2011.
The role of education in Sudan’s civil war
PROSPECTS, 2012
and the US. His main professional interests are international education, education and development, the globalization of educational discourses, international politics, human rights, HIV/AIDS, indigenous knowledge, education in conflict and African literature. He has published articles and books on education and development as well as on African history and fiction. His recent books include: HIV/AIDS in
General Education in Sudan, 2008
Education is not neutral, it is the picture and reflection of the State. Economic, social and political changes that occur in specific society influence education because educational policies in specific time express and show the aim of strata and class that rules the society.1 The time we live is the time of current revolution of science and technology, boom of knowledge and globalization where knowledge is not restricted by boarders throughout the five continents and where knowledge is not subjected to any kinds of permission.2 One of the sequences of the revolution of science and technology is the communication revolution that changed the world into one small village where any researcher throughout the world is entitled to and has access to recent researches in his field.3 Under this situation, the issue of education in Sudan jumps to the surface. Sad realities prevail when education in Sudan is considered: -One of these realities is that over 50% of Sudanese children who are entitled to education are not in schools.4 -High percentages of Students dropout. It is estimated that in 1984 that the percentages of dropout reached 40%. this percentage increased due to retreat of the state from providing free education since 1992. -Students who are enrolled in schools lacked trained teachers, accurate curriculums basic instruments, let alone computers.6 -Curriculum is lagged behind and suffers weakness and is inadaptable to new concepts of scientific technological revolution. It lacks awareness with issues such as Human Rights, woman status and environment.7 Curriculum is centered around Arabicization and Islamization that neglect African component of Sudanese culture, which threat the Sudanese national unity.8 It is worth to mention that this curriculum was not changed even after Nivasha Peace Agreement (CPA). -Curriculum does not encourage creativity as it depends of reciting by hearts, not thinking or development of mental abilities. -Current curriculum in Sudan is very poor as it adopted integration methods where three disciplines such as geography, history and science are collected together in one discipline known as Man and the world -Students have to pay for books, electricity, water, chalk and examinations. That led to broadening the gap between the haves and haves not, as those who do not pay will not be able to continue their studies
Sudanese Images of the Other: Education and Conflict in Sudan
Comparative Education Review, 2010
Education can contribute to peace and reconciliation as well as to conflict and strife (Bush and Saltarelli 2000; Smith and Vaux 2003; Davies 2004a). On the one hand, (re)building schools, recruiting teachers, and returning children to classrooms may help reduce the causes of fragility, legitimate the state, and create a peace dividend in postconflicts situations. The World Bank also argues that a return of children to school after armed conflict can produce an early peace dividend, cementing support for peace (World Bank 2005; Collier 2006; McEvoy-Levy 2006). On the other hand, Lennart Vriens (2004, 71) argues that education is one of "the most successful instruments for the. .. dissemination of militarism," and Marc Sommers (2002, 8) claims that "many who conduct modern wars are expert at using educational settings to indoctrinate and control children." The complex, often contradictory role of education in conflict is explored in this article in relation to Sudan. The focus of the article is the North-South conflict, bearing in mind that other, "minor" wars and military clashes in both the North and South have "each fed into and intensified the fighting of the overall 'North-South' war" (Johnson 2007, 127). 1 I examine the preand postconflict political discourses and the educational discourses employed in relation to the ideological, religious, and military struggle between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the South and the Khartoum government in the North. 2 In addition, I will discuss how the political and educational discourses contributed to the reconstruction of the country and to the simultaneous sustaining and undermining of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Examining the Contemporary Status of an Education System: The Case of the Republic of South Sudan
This paper attempts to examine the contemporary status of an education system. The paper takes the case of the Republic of South Sudan. The key issues the paper will examine are the education enrollment and completion rates while paying particular attention to inequalities in both access and quality among racial or ethnic groups, males and females, in rural and urban areas. Furthermore, the paper will also look at if there are programs and policies in South Sudan which improve educational opportunities for poor or marginalized communities given the actuality that the country is in state of conflict. Finally the paper will also gauge some of the evaluation mechanisms put in place on the education sector.
“Education Is My Mother and Father”: The “Invisible” Women of Sudan
Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, 2012
Education plays a significant role in informing the way people develop gender values, identities, relationships, and stereotypes. The education of refugees, however, takes place in multiple and diverse settings. Drawing on a decade of field research in Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and North America, I examine the promises and challenges of education for refugees and argue that southern Sudanese refugee women and girls experience gendered and unequal access to education in protracted refugee sites such as the Kakuma refugee camp, as well as in resettled destinations such as Massachusetts. Many of these refugees, who are commonly referred to as the “lost boys and girls,” did not experience schooling in the context of a stable family life; that is why they often reiterate the Sudanese proverb, “Education is my mother and father.” I argue that tertiary education is crucial because it promotes self-reliance. It enables refugees, particularly women, to gain knowledge, voice, and skills which wil...
Rethinking Sudan Studies : A Post-2011 Manifesto
This essay appraises "Sudan Studies" following the 2011 secession of South Sudan. It asks two questions. First, what has Sudan Studies been as a colonial and postcolonial field of academic inquiry and how should or must it change? Second, should we continue to write about a single arena of Sudan Studies now that Sudan has split apart? The authors advance a "manifesto" for Sudan Studies by urging scholars to map out more intellectual terrain by attending to non-elite actors and women; grass-roots and local history; the environment and the arts; oral sources; and interdisciplinary studies of culture, politics, and society. They propose that scholars can transcend the changing boundaries of the nation-state, and recognize connections forged through past and present migrations and contacts, by studying the Sudan as a zone rather than a fixed country. Finally, in their introduction to this bilingual special issue, they highlight the increasing relevance of French scholarship to the endeavor of rethinking Sudan Studies.