With regard to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the RET and the Sudan Ministry of Education, RET Grade 8 students benefit from an accredited end-of-primary-school exam. This opportunity has given hope to many students who are learning in the camps. In addition to the institutional recognition of the students’ educational commitment, this diploma will allow them to continue their schooling when they will return to Darfur.
In order to take a census of the Grade 8 students and to introduce the exam to them, Mousa Salih – representative of the Sudanese Ministry of Education – visited the RET projects in the 6 refugee camps of Gaga, Farchana, Treguine, Bredjine, Djabal and Goz Amir. As he completed his 10-day visit, he noted the great level of dedication of both the teachers and students. “While teaching and learning in this particular context is tough, I noticed how great are the efforts of the educators to provide quality education and how motivated are the students to complete their year,” highlights the education specialist. He also expresses his enthusiasm in seeing the high percentage of females per class. “That is of fundamental importance to promote a gender-balanced access to education,” he specifies.
In meeting the education delegates, Mousa Salih collected the list and pictures of the Grade 8 students to be transferred to the Ministry of Education. Moreover, he conducted discussions with the educators to evaluate their progress in teaching the many different curricula. He took good note of the difficulties they can face. “In fact, one of the main challenges we try to cope with is the different levels of Arabic language among the students,” explains a peer educator in the Gaga camp. Salih’s role was also to meet up with the students and encourage them, “I know that the Grade 8 curriculum is demanding and I understand the importance for them to be heard and supported.”
A total of 886 students will sit the 4-day exam, which will take place in June in several centres. They will be tested in 8 subjects – Arab language, Islamic religion, English, mathematics, history, geography, sciences and nutrition.
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