STORY: E-learning faces challenge in Sudan amid power outage, internet disruption
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 1, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:47
LOCATION: Khartoum
CATEGORY: EDUCATION

SHOTLIST:
1. various of students and parents at a registration center to register for Sudanese Certificate Examination
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MAJID IBRAHIM HAKIM, Administrative director of Soft Action Information and Communication Technology
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): EMAD ADAM SABEEL, Director of Students, Examinations, and Schools Affairs at Khartoum State's Education Ministry
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): MAJID IBRAHIM HAKIM, Administrative director of Soft Action Information and Communication Technology

STORYLINE:

As Sudan grapples with a prolonged conflict, e-learning, a vital resource for students in affected areas, faces significant obstacles due to frequent power outages and limited internet connectivity.

The conflict has devastated the educational infrastructure in Khartoum State, with many schools vandalized or converted into military barracks, leaving students in conflict zones unable to return to traditional classrooms.

As a result, many schools in conflict-hit areas, particularly the capital Khartoum, have adopted distance learning and digital platforms as a means to bring students back to learning atmosphere.

The Integrated Programme (IP) School system is recognized as one of the most significant e-learning platforms established in Sudan, which is currently utilized by hundreds of schools in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MAJID IBRAHIM HAKIM, Administrative director of Soft Action Information and Communication Technology
"This initiative is an electronic system that offers a practical solution for adapting to the ongoing state of war. It presents a concept for developing distance education or e-learning and represents one of the latest solutions adaptable to the current circumstances."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): EMAD ADAM SABEEL, Director of Students, Examinations, and Schools Affairs at Khartoum State's Education Ministry
"Presently, the ministry is fully prepared for the Sudanese Certificate Examination. We have received and recorded the data of all students who submitted their information."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): MAJID IBRAHIM HAKIM, Administrative director of Soft Action Information and Communication Technology
"This electronic system was first introduced in Khartoum State, and we hope other states will follow suit. Digital transformation is a development we need, not only in education but in other sectors as well."

Seventeen-year-old student Ibtisam Awad shared her struggles with e-learning. "During class times, I often have to visit a satellite internet shop with my phone. Other times, I can't charge my phone because of frequent power outages," she said.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly 17 million children in Sudan are out of school due to the ongoing conflict.

The crisis, which began in April 2023, pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The violence has claimed over 27,120 lives and displaced more than 14 million people, both internally and across borders, according to international organizations.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Khartoum.
(XHTV)