Whilst facing a major political, social and economic crisis since November 2021, Sudan, with an estimated 40% of the population aged under 14 and whilst being the third largest country in Africa, also has to cope with an ineffective education system. In addition to the poor access to quality education outside of the main cities, which has been worsened by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of education represents a big challenge for Sudan and, with only 26% of the country’s schoolteachers who meet the minimum qualifications, the retention and learning outcomes remain low and stagnant.
The pre-service teacher training programmes, which are provided in public universities, give priority to theory and academic knowledge, and do not help future teachers acquire the practical and pedagogical skills required to provide high quality education. As for the teachers already in service, they barely if not never are exposed to capacity professional development.
Find out more about the first phase of the EQUIP project
EQUIP 2: continuing to improve the quality of education
Thanks to the funding of the European Union, EQUIP 2 ensures the continuity of EQUIP 1, which was implemented between 2018 and 2021. Expertise France will implement this second phase from 2021 to 2024 in partnership with Save the Children and SOFRECO: the programme aims to improve the quality of education in Sudan, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups, in particular girls, migrants, displaced persons and refugees.
For further reading: Education and vocational training in Sudan: on course for EQUIP 2
Expertise France, with the support of France Education International for some activities, is responsible for improving pre-service and in-service training for Sudanese teachers.
The activities will have a sustainable impact on the education system. They will directly benefit:
• Over 20 faculties of education, meaning nearly all the faculties of education in the country;
• 400 teacher trainers from the faculties of education;
• 600 school supervisors and principals;
• 4,000 primary school teachers;
• 10,000 trainee teachers.
Activities of the EQUIP 2 programme
Capacity-building for teacher trainers
Following EQUIP 1, pre-service teacher training is being improved by building the capacities of university professors to
transfer their professional skills to the student teachers, in addition to their academic knowledge of the subjects they teach. In addition, Expertise France will also strengthen the existing teachers’ transversal and disciplinary competences through in-service teacher training across the country at the locality and school levels.
Implementation of practices and development of tools to evaluate teacher training
The implementation of evaluation practices and tools will make it possible to measure the quality and impact of the training given for both pre-service and in-service training. It will subsequently be possible to more effectively manage the improvement in the teacher training system.
Strengthening teacher qualification policies in close consultation with technical institution entities
Through constant institutional and human capacity building of the National Centre for Teacher Training, the project will support the development of sustainable policies.
As an example, the project team has developed a national in-service teacher-training plan for the newly established intermediate level, which model will be used by other development partners for the primary level. In addition, Expertise France was involved in the development of the National teacher training strategy’s action plan through the harmonization of a qualification and competences framework for teachers (pre- and in-service training), supervisors (localities) and headmasters (schools).
Supporting the emergence of educational research
Through innovative projects, such as a pilot training observatory in one of the top-notch Sudanese public universities, or the facilitation of university partnerships (ERASMUS+), Expertise France will support the emergence of research in Sudan. On the long-run, a study visit, an exchange programme with a foreign institution and a seminar will be organised to build the capacities of Sudanese administrations to coordinate stakeholders’ activities in the education sector, but also to support the emergence of research.
Promote gender diversity in the teaching profession
In Sudan, even though the majority of teachers are women, very few of them are seen in senior and leadership positions due to negative attitudes, misconceptions about women’s stereotypes, which leads to the belief that female teachers would underperform in leadership and management roles. The underrepresentation of women in these leadership roles deters girls enrolling in school and will negatively affect the academic performance and achievement of girls due to less favourable learning environment.
Through a thorough situation analysis, one of the key objectives of the programme is to understand where this situation is stemming from and how women can break the glass ceiling in the teaching profession. Expertise France will organize a high-visibility event to advocate for the stakeholders to commit and engage further towards an education system that would provide equal opportunities for all and leave no girls behind.
