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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
The revolutionary government of General Bashir announced
sweeping reforms in Sudanese education in September 1990. In
consultation with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic
teachers and administrators, who were the strongest supporters of
his regime, Bashir proclaimed a new philosophy of education. He
allocated £Sd400 million for the academic year 1990-91 to carry
out these reforms and promised to double the sum if the current
education system could be changed to meet the needs of Sudan.
The new education philosophy was to provide a frame of
reference for the reforms. Education was to be based on the
permanence of human nature, religious values, and physical
nature. This could only be accomplished by a Muslim curriculum,
which in all schools, colleges, and universities would consist of
two parts: an obligatory and an optional course of study. The
obligatory course to be studied by every student was to be based
on revealed knowledge concerning all disciplines. All the
essential elements of the obligatory course would be drawn from
the Quran and the recognized books of the hadith. The
optional course of study would permit the student to select
certain specializations according to individual aptitudes and
inclinations. Whether the government could carry out such
sweeping reforms throughout the country in the face of opposition
from within the Sudanese education establishment and the dearth
of resources for implementing such an ambitious project remained
to be seen. Membership in the Popular Defence Forces, a
paramilitary body allied to the National Islamic Front, became a
requirement for university admission. By early 1991, Bashir had
decreed that the number of university students be doubled and
that Arabic replace English as the language of instruction in
universities. He dismissed about seventy faculty members at the
University of Khartoum who opposed his reforms.
Data as of June 1991
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