Educators decry teacher shortage in W. Darfur, early marriage of girls

The Director of Education in El Geneina Locality, Idris Yusuf, complained of a shortage of education personnel by about five hundred teachers and added that so far only English language textbooks have arrived. He said also that 40% of students sleep on the ground. The students lack means of transportation and drinking water. Some students drink contaminated water. The students’ living situation reduces their ability to absorb critical lessons, he explained.

The state Department of Education’s deputy director for nomads, Professor Fathiya Mohamed Abdelaziz said the problems start after the fourth grade, when nomadic students start to drop out because of the lack of boarding houses. She also pointed to the problem of early marriage for girls, which stand in the way completing a basic education.