Sudan: Classrooms in Khartoum Without Teachers

At a time when Sudan is grappling with multiple humanitarian crises, the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee announced the commencement of a strike in Khartoum State on June 24, 2026, in accordance with the schedule previously published by the relevant committee.

The committee explained that the strike would continue until Tuesday, affirming teachers’ commitment across the state to implementing the action according to the specified timetable as part of an escalation of protests against the non-payment of their salaries.

Teachers are enduring harsh living conditions due to the irregular payment of wages, despite their erosion as a result of the collapse in the value of the local currency. This has prompted hundreds of teachers to enter an open-ended strike, defying the decision to reopen schools in a number of states under the control of the army aligned with Port Sudan.

The Teachers’ Committee had previously stated that educators are facing “an unprecedented deterioration in their wages and purchasing power, to the extent that current salaries are now completely disconnected from the minimum cost of living. The teachers’ strike is not aimed at securing privileges or luxuries; rather, it is a demand for a basic right—a wage that guarantees a minimum standard of dignified living, preserves the stability of the educational process, prevents the collapse of the teaching profession, and halts the exodus of qualified personnel. Teachers’ salaries range between 82,000 and 225,000 Sudanese pounds ($18 to $49) and are no longer sufficient to meet even the most basic necessities of life. Justice for teachers is the first step toward saving education and the future of generations.”

The committee also affirmed the continuation of labor activism in several states across the country, stressing that the demands of male and female teachers constitute legitimate rights related to wages, improvements in working conditions, and the payment of overdue entitlements, and that these issues should be addressed through dialogue rather than punitive measures or threats.

Harsh Conditions

In a statement, teacher Suleiman Mubarak said: “The state has halted salary payments, neglected the maintenance of schools that were destroyed or vandalized, and has not begun printing school textbooks, the last edition of which was issued before the war. Despite all this, it has decided to reopen schools and is demanding that teachers continue working.”

He pointed out that teachers have been living under “extremely difficult conditions since the outbreak of the war. Teachers submitted hundreds of memoranda and letters to the Ministry of Finance demanding the acceleration and regularization of salary payments, but these legitimate demands have been met with procrastination and repeated promises through discussions of forming committees to study the matter, indicating that the government has effectively removed education from its list of priorities.”

Among domestic reactions, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate renewed its support for teachers’ demands, emphasizing that security or administrative solutions will not resolve the crisis and that the only path forward lies in serious dialogue and a response to the demands of workers in the education sector.

The syndicate called for the prompt payment of outstanding dues, improvements in wages, and the opening of a comprehensive reform process for the education sector to ensure the stability of the educational process and the protection of workers’ rights.

This comes at a time when Sudan is experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis. On Monday, the Sudanese pound recorded its steepest decline on record against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange rate in the parallel market reaching approximately 5,500 pounds to the dollar.

The dollar had already surpassed the 5,000-pound threshold by the end of last week before continuing its rapid ascent following the decision by the Port Sudan authorities to raise the customs dollar rate by approximately 300 pounds, bringing it to 3,517 pounds.

War Takes Priority

Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Port Sudan, Ahmed Madawi Musa, recently spoke of the participation of approximately 3,000 university students in the fighting, including fatalities, injuries, and prisoners, opening a broad debate about the extent of overlap between academic institutions and the war effort.

This coincided with threats by Al Jazirah State Education Minister Abdullah Abu Al-Karam to replace striking teachers with members of the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigades and the Sudan Shield Forces as instructors, in response to demands for improved wages and school conditions.

These developments come after the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that more than 17 million Sudanese children are now outside the education system, out of approximately 19 million school-age children, representing nearly 90 percent of children and adolescents—one of the highest rates of educational disruption in the world.

This underscores the prioritization of war by Port Sudan over education or improving teachers’ conditions, particularly given that the army has rejected numerous international initiatives aimed at ending the conflict and achieving peace after three years of war.

Meanwhile, field reports and economic analyses have revealed what they describe as a systematic depletion of the state’s resources, with the military leadership under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan having redirected national assets and economic resources from serving development and public services toward financing the war effort.

According to reports published in 2024, economic experts estimated the direct and indirect costs to the Sudanese economy at more than $100 billion, while the cost of the fighting itself is estimated at roughly half a billion dollars per day.

Sudanese activist Awab Azzam Al-Boushi stated: “Everyone knows, without exception, that one of the fundamental reasons for Burhan’s rejection of peace is his categorical opposition to any political process that would exclude the former regime and the National Congress Party from any future government.” He added: “Genuine peace, as proposed in all initiatives, means the end of military guardianship over politics and the permanent closure of the door to the return of the National Congress Party through back channels.”

He further noted that “within this equation, the Sudanese people are paying the price through suffering and displacement, a collapsing economy, and the sacrifice of an entire generation for the sake of a worn-out power project. Every day the war continues is another day in which the former regime is granted an opportunity to return, while hope is taken away from the hands of ordinary citizens.”

Alarming Indicators

Meanwhile, reports by international organizations have revealed that approximately 71 percent of Sudan’s population—out of nearly 50 million people—are living below the extreme poverty line amid the continuation of the war and its broad economic and humanitarian consequences.

The reports indicated that more than 15 million people are facing severe levels of acute hunger, while international estimates show that the Sudanese economy has contracted by more than 42 percent compared to its level prior to the outbreak of war in mid-April 2023.

The reports estimate the direct and indirect losses resulting from the conflict at between $150 billion and $250 billion, with no immediate signs of economic recovery or improvement in humanitarian conditions.

Sudanese reports further indicate that approximately 60 percent of Sudanese citizens have lost their sources of income entirely, alongside widespread destruction of infrastructure, which has contributed to worsening displacement and food insecurity.

* Bayethe Msimang is an independent writer, analyst and political commentator.

** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of IOL.