Sudan

Original Re.ViCa entry by Paul Bacsich

For entities in Sudan see Category:Sudan

For the southern part of the former territory of Sudan see South Sudan

Partners situated in Sudan

None.

Sudan in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan)

Sudan (officially the Republic of the Sudan) (Arabic: السودان ‎- As Sūdān) is a country in Northern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the southeast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. The world's longest river, the Nile, bisects the country from south to north.

The population of Sudan is 39 million.

The capital of Sudan is Omdurman. Omdurman lies on the western banks of the river Nile, opposite the city of Khartoum. Omdurman has a population of over 3 million (2007) and is the national centre of commerce. Omdurman, Khartoum and Khartoum North (Bahri) form the cultural and industrial heart of the nation.

Source : http://www.cia.gov

Despite being the 17th fastest growing economy in the world with new economic policies and infrastructure investments, Sudan still faces formidable economic problems, as it must rise from a very low level of per capita output. Since 1997, Sudan has been implementing the macroeconomic reforms recommended by the IMF. In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999, recorded its first trade surplus. Increased oil production (the current production is about 520,000 barrels per day (83,000 m³/d)) revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped sustain GDP growth at 6.1% in 2003. These gains, along with improvements to monetary policy, have stabilized the exchange rate. Currently oil is Sudan's main export, and the production is increasing dramatically. With rising oil revenues the Sudanese economy has been booming, with a growth rate of about 9% in 2007. Sustained growth was expected to continue, because of not only increasing oil production, but also the boost of hydroelectricity (annual electricity yield of 5.5 TWh) by Merowe Dam.

Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including: petroleum, natural gas, gold, silver, chrome, asbestos, manganese, gypsum, mica, zinc, iron, lead, uranium, copper, kaolin, cobalt, granite, nickel and tin.

Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the workforce and contributing 39% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices — ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years, but with a population of 39 million that still leaves a considerable number of middle class citizens.

The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity, which is intertwined with the history of Egypt, with which it was united politically over several periods. Sudan's modern history has been plagued by civil wars stemming from ethnic, religious, and economic conflict between the northern and southern parts of Sudan, with recent conflitts with the west and a small part of the east of Sudan also.

In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages are Arabic and English. However the total number of languages used or spoken in Sudan is 142. Of those, 133 are currently spoken and lived languages and 9 languages are extinct.

An estimated 70% of the population adheres to Islam. The remainder of the population follows either animist and indigenous beliefs (25%) or Christianity (5%).

Sudan is divided into twenty-five states (wilayat, sing. wilayah) which in turn are subdivided into 133 districts. The ten states in Southern Sudan have been divided into 84 counties.

Currently there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, alleged widespread violation of human rights and many concerns expressed about the legitimacy of the state, which means that normal life in many parts of Sudan is severely disrupted. Thus the rest of the material will tend to focus on the North Sudan group of states.

Sudan education policy

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Sudan)

Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years. Primary education consists of eight years, followed by three years of secondary education. The former educational ladder 6 + 3 + 3 was changed in 1990. The primary language at all levels is Arabic. Schools are concentrated in urban areas; many in the South and West have been damaged or destroyed by conflict.

In 2001 the World Bank estimated that primary enrollment was 46 percent of eligible pupils and 21 percent of secondary students. Enrollment varies widely, falling below 20 percent in some provinces. Sudan has 19 universities; instruction is primarily in Arabic.

Education at the secondary and university levels has been seriously hampered by the requirement that most males perform military service before completing their education.

Higher education

Universities in Sudan

Institutions of higher education in Sudan include:

1. ComputerMan College For Computer Studies
2. Academy of Medical Sciences
3. Ahfad University for Women
4. Bayan Science and Technology College
5. Mycetoma Research Centre
6. Omdurman Ahlia University
7. Omdurman Islamic University
8. Sudan University of Science and Technology
9. University of Gezira
10. University of Juba
11. University of Khartoum with the national library
12. University of Kordofan

There is also the Open University of Sudan.

A considerably longer list of institutions is given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Sudan but less than half of these have Wikipedia entries and several of the entries are disputed or out of date.

Up to date information is hard to find - for example the material at http://www.sudani.co.za/people_education_higher.htm is nearly 20 years old.

Virtual Campuses in HE

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

Open University of Sudan

The Open University of Sudan (Jameat El Sudan El Maftuha, OUS) was founded in 2002, based in Khartoum, by the Sudanese Council of Ministers for various reaons including "the desire to liberate higher education from the limitations of time and place".

Its web site is at http://www.ous.edu.sd but has no pages in English.

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

References

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For OER policies and projects in Sudan see Sudan/OER

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