The Nihal European University in Sudan

After achieving its independence Sudan was well-known in the Arab world for its relatively high level of education. Until the middle of the 1980s there was an increase in the number of educational institutions in the north of the country. In addition standards were raised, for instance at the University of Khartoum by drawing upon external examiners from the University of London.

Nonetheless in the 1970s a noticeable decline in the general level of education could be observed, conditioned by internal conflicts, especially in the south of the country, that were in part responsible for the deterioration of the economic climate in Sudan. Teacher salaries were inadequate, and it was nothing out of the ordinary to find teachers migrating to states with a dollar-based economy. In addition the universities suffer to this day from acute under-financing, and new government programmes have not been able to offset this effect. As a result visits to provincial universities reveal that material for laboratory experiments, in the natural sciences for example, is entirely lacking. This is one reason why the educational level in most Sudanese universities is not on a par with that of others internationally. There are laudable exceptions among a few private institutions such as the Technical University in Omdurman and the Al-Ahfad University, both of which require tuition payments of approximately 6,000 USD Dollars per year.

At the same time Sudan is a country characterized by a high rate of population growth. At present the birth rate is approximately 2.082%, or 34.86 births for every 1,000 inhabitants with 14.39 deaths. On average each women gives birth to 4.69 children. In 1973 Sudan had roughly 14.8 million inhabitants; today that number is approximately 39.4 million and estimates for 2025 assume a population of 60 million. Correspondingly the population of Sudan is relatively young: 41.6% of Sudanese are 14 years old or younger; the average age is 18.7 years.

On the whole the government is attempting to deal with this trend by establishing new universities, as well as supporting their founding in the provinces. This is also a reason why in the last years the number of students admitted to university has increased. Yet the university system is by no means adequate. In particular there is still a deficit in the number of qualified teachers, especially in the area of foreign languages, which is already a problem in the schools. Hence we cannot at the present talk about achieving an internationally comparable level.

In Sudan there is a great demand for university training and a corresponding discrepancy between the number of formally qualified school graduates and the number of openings available for studies at university. At the same time the public universities require tuition that is approximately at the same level as that of the private universities. Only a very small percentage of students receives financial support through a state system of subsidies, in framework of which fees are also waived.

The Nihal European University in Sudan will attempt to provide limited assistance to the Sudanese educational system by demanding that its students be taught at the highest possible level, based on European standards and meeting the requirements of the international job market and the globalized world economy. This means for students that they will not have to undertake their studies completely or in part outside of Sudan in order to be competitive internationally – something which only the wealthiest classes can afford, not to speak of the difficulties which lower classes have in obtaining a visa to go abroad. In addition the Nihal European University in Sudan will attempt to establish a system of scholarships (and possibly student loans) that will be as extensive as possible within the limitations of the university’s financial means. This would enable talented students from poorer circumstances and structurally disadvantaged regions, such as those formerly involved in the civil war, to commence and complete a university degree based on European standards. We also plan to build dormitories so that students from outside the region will be able to have affordable accommodations.

We can assume that after a certain establishment phase the Nihal European University in Sudan will admit a certain number of new students every year, if we offer university studies based on European standards at fees that are comparable to those of competing institutions. Under such circumstances we will achieve the introductory capacity we plan to provide.

Lastly the Nihal European University in Sudan will be making a significant contribution to intercultural communication between Europe on the one hand and the Orient and the African world on the other, thus helping to achieve a more general acceptance of cultural pluralism.