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Sudanese refugees endure a number of social, economic and political challenges in accessing education. The most acutely affected are those not recognized as refugees. Yet even for those registered with UNHCR, exercising their right to education is very often an impossibility. A 2001 UNHCR Case Study Cairo highlighted concerns that UNHCR funding allocated for education was too low. Rather than being 'geared towards subsidising the status quo', the author advised that it should be 'geared towards fostering refugees' capacity to run their own lives'. The report also called for all children to have access to public primary schools, as well as providing support and assistance obtaining secondary and postsecondary education through scholarships for students and grants to churches with learning centers. Special attention was to be paid to integrating those children who had been out of education for several years. Almost ten years later in 2010, the UNHCR provided 7,000 education grants for registered refugees in Egypt - a relatively low number considering Egypt's burgeoning refugee population, of which the majority is Sudanese.

Legal Framework

Egypt is party to a number of international conventions, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Casablanca Protocol (signed in 1981), and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Egypt acceded to the 1951 Convention in 1981 with a number of reservations. There are also bilateral agreements between the Egyptian and Sudanese governments, including the 1974 Nile Valley Agreement and the 2004 Four Freedoms Agreement and the 1974 Nile Valley Agreement, permitting free movement of goods and people across the border. These commitments on paper have failed to translate into affording refugees sufficient protection or access to rights, including education. Until recently, one of the reservations to the 1951 Convention referred to Article (22), which stipulated that refugees should receive the same treatment as nationals in accessing primary education. In December 2000, the government passed a decree permitting recognized refugee children to enter public primary schools. Currently, the reality is that bureaucratic and social obstacles, ignorance and confusion over ministerial decrees deny Sudanese refugee and non-refugee children alike of their right to access education.

Public Schools

The Egyptian population has a 66% literacy rate , which is an indication of its overburdened and inadequate education system. In the past, it has suffered criticism for its emphasis on memorization and an inadequate national curriculum. Schools suffer from overcrowding, which makes finding a place in the appropriate grade in public schools difficult for both Egyptian and Sudanese children. Some schools operate shift systems, in order to accommodate a surplus of students, but in many schools the student-teacher ratio is 45 to 1, with even higher ratios in some inner-city schools.. Although Sudanese children were granted the right to free primary education in 2000, the cumbersome entry process for Sudanese children hinders access to public schools. The Egyptian Ministry of Education requires that Sudanese provide documentation from previous schools, a birth certificate and residency permit or iqama. Residency permits are often too expensive for Sudanese families, and having spent their lives as IDPs in Sudan, many children do not have the necessary documentation. For those children who are able to attend public primary schools, some are subject to bullying and harassment because of skin colour. There are also problems for many, due to their socio-economic situation. Teachers have noted that some children are unable to do their homework due to cramped living conditions and/or a lack of electricity at home. Moreover, many Sudanese families live in small one-room apartments, with as many as seven or eight people in one residence. Recently, the Danish embassy began funding a lunch program, as there was concern that children were coming to school hungry, without having been fed at home.

Secondary education is not free for Sudanese refugees. Like foreigners, they must pay fees.

Refugee Schools

The first refugee school was established in 1990 by Sudanese parents and teachers, and since then churches have become major service-providers for the Sudanese refugee population, particarly in the field of education. After recognizing the difficulties Sudanese children faced in accessing free education, many churches established refugee schools. There are three major learning centers for Sudanese refugees in Cairo providing primary education from kindergarten to tenth grade; namely Muwanga, Nusiriya and Afendiya, as well as several other smaller schools across the city. Muwanga and Nusiriya schools abides by the Egyptian national curriculum, whereas Afendiya follows an American curriculum and teaches lessons in English. These refugee schools face similar problems to public schools in terms of overcrowding. In recent years, Muwanga school has seen its student body increase from 400 to 5000 students. Once again, socio-economic conditions prevent many students from entering refugee schools. According to James Natale Finji, a principal of one of the schools, many of his students live in female-headed households, and most of the single mothers work as domestic servants, sometimes in distant cities, or they live in their employers' homes in Cairo. Their daughters sometimes drop out of school to care for their siblings.

Despite their popularity, Sudanese children attending these schools cannot obtain certificates recognized by the Egyptian or Sudanese governments. Rather, children must sit a final examination in Egyptian public schools, set by the Ministry of Education. The registration process for these end of term examinations is problematic for Sudanese refugees, as it requires the submission of documentation and identification, as well as the expense of a residency permit or iqama. As a result, many Sudanese children cannot advance beyond primary level education. According to Sudanese sociologist, Jane Kani Edward, this requirement "...represents a planned and constructed strategy to deny southern Sudanese refugee children access to education and success.”

Childcare

Sudanese women in Cairo, particularly single mothers, are under pressure to work long hours in the informal economy as domestic workers. In some situations, children are forced to travel to school unaccompanied. Lack of childcare has also forced single mothers to leave their young children at home alone for hours at a time. Others have resorted to enrolling their children in refugee schools, despite being underage. This also poses problems for school teachers, who are faced with large classes of children of various ages and abilities.

Higher Education

These is relatively long history of higher education among Sudanese in Egypt, dating back to 1972. Following the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement between the Egyptian government and the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM), Sudanese students were granted free education in Egyptian universities under the 'Egyptian Scholarship for Sudanese Students' program. Between 1972 and 1982, 100 Sudanese students were granted scholarships each year. After the redivision of administrative districts in the south during 1982, the number admitted on the scholarship program rose to 300 students. This program was terminated in 1992. In recent years, higher education has become even less accessible for Sudanese students, as Egyptian universities have begun to charge refugee and foreign students high fees payable in hard currency. Moreover, due to reduced funding and a shift in policy, the UNHCR in Cairo has been limited in its capacity to assist students.