The Sudanese University Professors’ Committee (LAJSO) has announced its intention to go on an indefinite strike starting Sunday March 29 until the professors’ demands are met. This comes after LAJSO stated that it had exhausted all avenues to avoid this step. This strike comes at a time of exceptional circumstances facing Sudanese universities, with mounting challenges arising from economic decline and the complexities of the security situation, which have directly affected the stability of the educational process and weakened the ability of academic institutions to fulfil their mission.
LAJSO (an abbreviation drawn from the Committee’s original name in Arabic لجنة أساتذة الجامعات السودانية (لاجسو)) outlined that the decision to strike comes as a result of the sharp deterioration in living and working conditions, and the continued disregard for the fundamental demands of university professors. The most important of the demands include the approval of a new salary structure and the adoption of fair terms of service that guarantee rights and preserve the dignity of university lecturers.
Eight university professors from Bakht Al-Rida University in Ad-Dueim were arrested on the first day of the strike.
LAJSO called on all lecturers to fully commit to the strike, emphasising that unity is the decisive factor in achieving their demands. It has also held the relevant authorities responsible for the deterioration of the higher education sector, warning of the risk of its collapse should the current situation continue to be ignored.
In a related development, the situation escalated further on the ground, as eight university professors were arrested on the first day of the strike called by LAJSO. The arrests targeted faculty members from Bakht Al-Rida University in Ad-Dueim, raising concerns among academics about potential reprisals against participants in the industrial action and adding to an already tense environment surrounding the strike. This escalation comes against a backdrop of mounting challenges facing higher education in Sudan.
In recent weeks, reports had circulated on social media that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research had appropriated 40 per cent of the institutional support provided by the Ministry of Finance to universities. The Ministry of Higher Education, however, issued a statement denying the veracity of these reports.
The Ministry confirmed that its budget is independent and is managed in accordance with financial regulations and internal audit procedures, whilst universities receive direct government funding, in addition to their own revenue. The Ministry clarified that additional funding has been approved within the 2026 budget to improve the conditions of academic and support staff, and that a specialised committee chaired by the Deputy Minister is currently working on establishing transparent criteria for the distribution of the funding immediately after the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Ministry has also emphasised its strong commitment to safeguarding its reputation and zero tolerance for the spreading of falsehoods or attacks on higher education institutions.
On Wednesday March 25, LAJSO announced in a statement, following a meeting between the Minister of Higher Education and university leaders, its rejection of what it described as “relative increase in wages.” It affirmed that the core issue is the approval of the salary structure and the regulations on terms of service recommended by the technical committee of the Council of Ministers. It clarified that any increase outside this framework would be considered a circumvention of their demands, noting its willingness to negotiate the phased implementation of the structure in recognition of the current circumstances the country is facing, but stressed that a general strike remains its decisive option to secure rights and uphold the status of university lecturers. LAJSO was established in 2021 and it represents nearly 19,000 university professors who supervise hundreds of thousands of students across 35 state universities.
LAJSO began its campaign by submitting a memorandum to the Council of Ministers in July 2021, but received no response. In September 2021, the committee escalated its actions, beginning with protest vigils, followed by a phased strike, and culminating in a two-day open-ended strike, until then Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok issued Decree No. 566, which recognised the rights of university lecturers, and the government acknowledged their cause. The political upheaval of the October 25 coup, however, derailed its implementation.
On September 21, 2022, the professors went on an open-ended strike that lasted 16 weeks, until the Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 90 of 2022 approving the salary structure and increasing the monthly allocation for the higher education budget from 30 billion SDG to 80 billion SDG.
On 28 April 2022, the new structure was implemented, bringing a professor’s salary to between 500,000 and 800,000 SDG. The exchange rate at the time was around 500 SDG to the dollar.
The hardship of life
It is not just about salaries. It is a battle to save higher education itself from collapse.
Dr Fadlallah Mustafa, LAJSO member
According to Dr Fadlallah Mustafa, a leader in the University Professors’ Committee, a university professor earns approximately 518,000 SDG per month, equivalent to $150 at present. Before the war, the same salary was worth around $1,000. Currently, the amount cannot adequately cover transportation costs, particularly with rising inflation and the collapse of the national currency. Dr Fadlallah adds that the salary of a Sudanese university professor remains the lowest compared to neighbouring African and Arab countries. Fadlallah explains that these demands were reached in 2018 with the enactment of the Civil Service Framework Law, as Article 4, paragraph (2-b), referred to the exemption of university professors from the Civil Service Law and the establishment of a specific salary structure for them. This law, however, remained what he calls a dead letter for three years.
In his interview with Atar, Fadlallah argues that the role of a university professor is unique because their academic duties are multifaceted. They are teachers, researchers, and active contributors to community service. “From this perspective, university professors should be accorded special treatment. The reality, however, reflects the plight of Sudanese universities, which suffer from a shortage of qualified staff. At the same time, voices are rising to demand financial stability for professors in order to prevent their emigration. This would have a negative impact on the country’s progress,” Fadlallah says, adding: “It is not just about salaries. It is a battle to save higher education itself from collapse.”
When war broke out in April 2023, Sudanese university professors entered a new chapter of tragedy. Their homes were looted and they were scattered among internally displaced persons or refugees in neighbouring countries. Some remained under threat of artillery fire in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. Others were forced to take marginal jobs, such as selling vegetables or driving rickshaws, to cope with the dire economic situation and provide for their children. Nevertheless, they continued to teach online lectures to students whose campuses had been destroyed in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan. They did so despite spending 20 months receiving only 60 per cent of their meager salaries or working for months without payment. “The professors persisted in fighting on the front lines to survive and preserve higher education institutions. These were years of procrastination and empty promises. With the government’s relocation to Port Sudan, however, hope was renewed. The technical committee, formed by the Council of Ministers pursuant to Decision 115 of 2023, drew up the final proposal for the salary structure and regulations, which was recommended for approval. We were promised it would be included in the budget. The 2026 budget was approved, and once again, the professors’ rights and demands were disregarded,” Dr Fadlallah told Atar.
Right holders
Fadlallah emphasises that university professors are not seeking to go on strike but they have been forced to stop work. He attributes this to teachers seeing their colleagues emigrate to neighbouring countries or take up marginal jobs within Sudan, and no longer being able to wait. The don adds that LAJSO has put forward a highly flexible solution and is now awaiting an urgent decision from the Council of Ministers and the Ministries of Finance and Higher Education to approve the structure and terms of service regulations legally. In recognition of the country’s circumstances, the lecturers have expressed their willingness to accept the phased implementation of the decision over the course of 2026 and 2027. As for the fate of students should the open-ended strike go ahead, Fadlallah explains that, since their academic timetables have already been affected by the war, the strike scheduled for March 29 is not directed against them. The professors say they consider the students to be like their own children and siblings. It is, however, they say, necessary to protect higher education from collapse as a result of the government’s neglect and disregard for their rights, which have been outstanding since 2018. “The sector is suffering from a severe shortage of teaching staff due to ongoing emigration in search of better living conditions. Consequently, without stable, professionally valued lecturers, quality education and effective teaching cannot be achieved, and universities will become nothing more than a source of empty certificates,” he says.
The idea of failure is out of the question.
Abdullah Kharasani, LAJSO member
Regarding the effectiveness of the strike planned after the Eid al-Fitr holiday and its chances of success, Abdullah Kharasani, a LAJSO member, told Atar that “the idea of failure is out of the question,” citing a poll conducted by the committee among its members, which received the approval of 94 per cent of participants. Addressing concerns about the closure of state universities or a shift towards private higher education, Dr Kharasani criticised those responsible for obstructing the implementation of the salary structure, accusing them of “pushing education into this dark tunnel.”
Kharasani emphasised that professors aim to have the terms of service regulations approved to ensure educational quality and preserve the status of university lecturers. He warned that ignoring these demands would lead to the exodus of remaining talented staff and the gradual demise of state universities. He explained that the current crisis primarily stems from a lack of political will. This, he said, has resulted in a power struggle between the Ministries of Finance and Higher Education, with both sides passing blame back and forth without implementing the issued decisions, including Decisions No. 566 of 2021 and No. 115 of 2023. The recommendations of these decisions were shelved. He also highlighted the lack of formal coordination with university administrations. Although the administrations are well aware of the financial hardship faced by professors, university rectors alone do not have the authority to resolve the issue as the decision lies with the central authorities.
“It is regrettable that university administrations are meeting to discuss issues unrelated to the fundamental crisis: the salary structure,” Kharasani said. He noted that LAJSO had not only protested, but also put forward proposals to fund the salary structure without burdening the state treasury. These proposals included imposing duties on discretionary goods, telecommunications, customs duty and gold, and allocating a percentage of gross domestic product to education. This model, Kharasani says, is based on successful international experiences of funding higher education. He added that the LAJSO had drawn on published academic papers by Sudanese experts in the economics of education. “We expect the government to salvage what can be salvaged, make concrete executive decisions and set a documented timetable for implementing the professors’ demands, before proceeding with the general strike after the Eid al-Fitr break,” Khorasani added.
Governments come and go: the system remains the same
Dr Fadlallah believes that this issue is not a recent development, but rather a bitter struggle marked by the state’s neglect since 1965, when professors demanded the then Minister of Higher Education Mohamed Talaat Farid to raise their salaries, through to 2018, when the government excluded Sudanese university professors from the general framework of the Civil Service Act, which regulates the salaries and conditions of service for state employees pursuant to the Civil Service Framework Act of 2018, and this situation continues to this day.
Dr Kharasani said the professors had resorted to strike action due to the deadlock in dialogue with the sovereign and executive authorities. He explained that LAJSO had approached every relevant body, including the Cabinet office and the Ministries of Higher Education and Finance, and submitted numerous memoranda, yet received no tangible response to their demands. These demands, Kharasani said, have remained unaddressed by all successive governments since 2018. He noted that they had encountered nothing but continuous deadlock over the past eight years. He recalled that, during his meeting with the rectors of public universities in Khartoum on March 13, Ahmed Madwi Musa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stated that the state is keen to support universities and improve staff salaries in recognition of the role professors play in sustaining the educational process despite difficult circumstances. At the same time, the minister called for the expansion of e-learning, the diversification of funding sources and strengthened partnerships with regional and international bodies to support and develop academic and research programmes.
Student solidarity
Despite the Ministry’s assurances that it is committed to supporting universities and improving staff conditions, professors are insisting on a general strike as the most effective means of pressing for the fulfilment of their demands. This decision has been met with solidarity from several student unions at universities.
In a press release, the Students’ Union of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences at the University of Dongola stated that improving professors’ conditions is necessary to ensure a stable educational environment, which directly affects students’ interests and the quality of educational outcomes. The Students’ Union affirmed that the students support the professors’ legitimate demands within the framework guaranteed by law.
The Union called on students to act with awareness and responsibility during this period, urging them to follow developments in an organised manner. It appealed to the relevant authorities to give serious consideration to the demands and work towards addressing them to achieve the desired stability. The Association of Law Faculty Students at Al-Nilein University said it values the significant efforts of the faculty administration towards the stability and continuity of the educational process, while also affirming its full respect for the professors’ rights. The association emphasised its commitment to ensuring that its positions are consistent with the spirit of mutual respect and that it remains a unifying platform that reflects the interests of students while acknowledging all parties involved in the educational process.
Ultimate decisions
At least 11.9 billion SDG has been allocated, with professors’ salaries set at no less than one million SDG.
Manal Ahmed El-Sayed, Director of the General Administration of Finance
At a meeting held on Thursday, the Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research announced an immediate response from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. This response relates to the approval of the 2026 budget and an increase in support for universities. A total of 21 billion SDG has been allocated to improve service conditions for academic staff, teaching assistants, and other personnel. This funding will also cover operational and training expenses. Professor Musa confirmed that these funds will be transferred to university accounts and distributed across three categories: improving working conditions for staff at public higher education institutions; training for academic staff; and the administration of the educational process.
At the same meeting, Manal Ahmed El-Sayed, the Director of the General Administration of Finance and a member of the Government Support Distribution Committee, announced that at least 11.9 billion SDG had been allocated to support professors’ salaries. Ms El-Sayed said the salary of a university professor would be set at no less than one million SDG, an associate professor at no less than 900,000 SDG, and an assistant professor at no less than 850,000 SDG. LAJSO specified other rates in a circular. El-Sayed said these would be distributed among state higher education institutions alongside the determination of salaries for non-academic staff. No less than 7 billion SDG of support has been allocated for this purpose.
This decision will almost double the highest salary for a university professor, bringing it to around £300. But will this help to stop the strike or limit the exodus of professors?
