Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • UNICEF said drone strikes destroyed more than 330,000 educational materials in North Kordofan State: more than 292,000 school textbooks and 40,000 Arabic and mathematics revision books, which had been stored in two warehouses in Sheikan locality (hit on September 20) and prepared for distribution to schools in West Bara, Bara and Um Dam starting in October with the beginning of the new school year — the organization's representative in Sudan, Angela Kearney, described the destruction as "a setback for children at a time when every effort is being made to get them back into classrooms," and called on all parties to protect educational infrastructure under international humanitarian law (Source: UNICEF — press release, September 22, 2026). • More than 216,000 students completed electronic application for admission to higher education institutions for 2026–2027, according to the electronic monitoring dashboard of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research as of September 25 (the ninth day of the application period) — more than 99% of the target for general admission in the first batch. The Director of Information Technology and Networks, Dr. Babiker Hussein Ahmed, said the system is working steadily this year with an updated version that allows students and their families to complete procedures from their phones and devices, and that the ministry has introduced artificial intelligence technologies to answer inquiries and improve services (Source: The Citizen newspaper — citing the Ministry of Higher Education, September 25, 2026). • The Ministry of Higher Education established 78 guidance, support and electronic application centers for university admission distributed across 11 states and regions — the Director of the General Administration for Admission and Evaluation and Documentation of Certificates, Dr. Ahlam Ali Sharif, confirmed they are working at full capacity: providing direct support to students and their parents in electronic application, payment, choosing preferences, completing data and answering inquiries. Khartoum State received the largest share (43 centers in public and private universities and colleges), followed by Gezira (11) and Red Sea (4), and 3 centers each for River Nile, Northern, White Nile and North Kordofan, and two centers each for Sennar, Gedaref, Kassala and Blue Nile (Source: The Citizen newspaper — Ministry of Higher Education statement, September 23, 2026). • The General Administration for Admission and Evaluation and Documentation of Certificates at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced the opening of application for admission to public and private higher education institutions for the academic year 2026–2027 in the period from September 17 to 26 — covering only holders of the Sudanese secondary certificate or its equivalent from Arab and foreign certificates for 2026, via the administration's website (admission.gov.sd), with fees of 20,000 Sudanese pounds for applicants inside the country and 200 dollars for Sudanese abroad (Source: Sudan Horizon — citing SUNA, September 17, 2026). • A new British government information note (September 2026) indicates that 10.5 million children in Sudan need educational support, and about 60% of school-age children are not enrolled in formal education — and states that UNICEF counted 13,220 functioning schools out of 19,390 (68%), while access remains most affected in Darfur and Kordofan where schools are destroyed, occupied or used as shelters for the displaced, and teacher shortages, unpaid salaries and lack of educational materials continue to hinder education. As of June 2026, only about 378,000 children (17.2% of those targeted) had received educational assistance through 35 partner organizations (Source: British Government — Sudan humanitarian situation note, September 2026). • The government directed Sudanese universities to return to their original campuses after years of operating from temporary sites and displacement shelters, in a step aimed at restoring academic life and rebuilding the education system — the International University of Africa (Khartoum) had announced the resumption of its full operations at its main campus after a three-year closure, receiving students in September 2026 and offering fully funded scholarships for bachelor's, master's and doctoral students (Source: CGTN Africa / International University of Africa, September 2026).
— Education Desk
