The secondary school examinations organized by the Tasis coalition government in areas under Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control concluded last Thursday.
The exams were held separately from the Sudanese secondary certificate examinations conducted in territories controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
On Sunday, June 7, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Presidential Council of the Tasis coalition government, rang the bell in the courtyard of Al-Wahda Secondary School in Nyala, the administrative capital of the Tasis government in South Darfur state, marking the launch of the first secondary certificate examinations for students in RSF-controlled areas since the war began in April 2023.
According to the office of the Tasis Prime Minister, 10,000 students sat for the examinations, with female students accounting for approximately 74 per cent of candidates.
Information obtained by Atar indicates that examinees were distributed across seven states and sat in 68 examination centres, including one in Al-Mazroub in North Kordofan state and eight others in West Kordofan, while the remaining centres were spread across Darfur’s five states.
The examinations ran for 15 days and covered both academic and technical tracks. South Darfur alone hosted 31 examination centres.
Earlier, the National Initiative for the Sudanese Certificate Examination estimated that around 280,000 students across Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile had been unable to sit for certificate examinations.
By comparison, 564,000 students took the Sudanese secondary certificate examinations last April, which were conducted in SAF-controlled areas and at several overseas centres, distributed across 3,333 examination centres inside and outside Sudan.
Coinciding with the examination period, the Prime Minister of the Tasis government issued a decision on June 11 appointing Professor Eid Ibrahim Brima as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Students and Parents’ Views
Isn’t it only natural that those who pass should be admitted to Sudanese universities?
Hasna Abdelrasoul, examination candidate
Hasna Abdelrasoul, who finally was able to sit for the secondary certificate examinations after being deprived of the opportunity for three years, described the process as having gone smoothly. She said she felt excited, for no reason other than finally being able to take the exams. Yet she remains uncertain about what comes next and wondered aloud:
“Isn’t it only natural that those who pass should be admitted to Sudanese universities?”
From the very first exam session, Hasna noticed that she was facing a new style of examination design.
According to her, the questions were “more complicated” and differed from the older exam formats she had grown accustomed to revising.
For his part, Mousa Ali, who sat for the examinations at Al-Wahda Secondary School centre in Nyala, told Atar:
“At the beginning, I felt hopeless and discouraged about the exams. But when I saw a statement from the President while he was checking on the candidates’ conditions, I felt the process was being taken more seriously.”
Although I still carry the feeling that these examinations may not be officially recognized, I don’t have any other options. At the very least, something happening is better than nothing at all.
Yasser Issa, student sitting the examinations in Bilel locality
Mousa told Atar that two teachers supervised each examination room, while a third moved between candidates, monitoring conditions and recording absences.
“I had hoped to sit for the exams knowing with certainty that things would proceed properly regarding our admission to universities afterward. I first heard about the examinations from friends in the neighbourhood. Until recently, I didn’t take the matter seriously, but I kept studying just in case. As time passed and discussion around the exams grew, I decided in May to verify whether they were actually happening. When I went to the school and found that it was true, I decided to sit for the examinations,” Yasser Issa, a student taking the examinations at Thamar Al-Dani centre in Bilel locality, told Atar:
Yasser said he had previously sat for the examinations in 2022 at Bilel Secondary School, where he scored 67 per cent, and decided to try again in 2023.
“Although I still carry the feeling that these examinations may not be officially recognized, I don’t have any other options. At the very least, something happening is better than nothing at all,” he said.
“My son, Abdelrazag, is currently sitting for the examinations and, frankly, these exams feel more like a distraction. They neither help nor solve anything. But it is not in our hands,” Mousa Abdelrahman, a father of seven living in Bilel, told Atar.
Mousa added that when his son first consulted him, he opposed the idea of taking the exams because he saw little value in them. But his son had become deeply distressed and spoke about feeling as though his future was slipping away. Reflecting on his son’s condition, Mousa said:
“And honestly, that is true. These students have gone three years without education, and that’s not something easy. After hearing him out, I agreed and asked where he intended to attend university after the exams. He told me that teachers had informed them they would be accepted into universities located in Darfur, and that opportunities would also be available for those wishing to study at other African universities.”
Concluding his remarks, Mousa said: “Now my son has taken the exams with them, and I hope what the teachers told them turns out to be true. I wish all the students success.”
Technical Preparations
The greatest value of these examinations lies in their potential contribution to stabilizing public education in the coming academic year.
Abdeljabbar Daqsham, assistant controller at Daqsham Secondary School examination centre.
A supervising teacher at Daqsham Examination Center in Kalma camp, South Darfur state, told Atar on condition of anonymity, that 82 students from both the arts and science streams were sitting for the examinations at the centre.
Since the first exam session, two students have been absent, though the reasons remain unknown.
The teacher explained that examination sessions begin at 8am, with three hours allocated for core subjects and two and a half hours for elective subjects.
Regarding exam security and centre operations, the teacher said a security committee composed of six displaced residents from Kalma camp had been formed. Its responsibilities include receiving examination papers, securing the centre, collecting completed papers and transporting them to storage facilities.
The examination process also includes a controller, an assistant controller and six invigilators.
He added that female and male students had traveled from Nertiti in Central Darfur state and Mukjar in West Darfur state to sit for the examinations in Kalma camp.
Abdeljabbar Daqsham, the assistant controller at Daqsham Secondary School examination centre in Kalma camp, said student turnout for the examinations had been very limited.
Daqsham attributed the low participation to widespread rumours surrounding the credibility of the examinations organized by the Tasis government, which, according to him, had affected students’ willingness to participate. He said such concerns had been circulated by some teachers and parents.
“For example, there are currently 16 students sitting for examinations at Thamar Al-Dani School centre in Bilel locality. Three absences have been recorded,” Daqsham said.
Daqsham said the greatest value of these examinations lies in their potential contribution to stabilizing public education in the coming academic year. He added that the exams could serve as a pressure card on the SAF government to allow students to sit for examinations from their own areas without being forced to travel.
Regarding incentives for invigilators and support staff, Daqsham said they had not been informed of the value of daily allowances for either supervisors or workers. They had only been asked to submit lists containing the names of invigilators and staff members.
“We sent the lists,” he said, “without knowing whether the ministry will actually pay those incentives or not.”
