early 3 million people have been identified as nomads in Sudan – more than 8 per cent of the population – and their movement spans over one-third of the country. 

Sudanese people, nomadic communities have traditionally resisted the notion of sending children, especially girls, to school. Education status within these communities is very poor with extremely low enrolment rates, especially among girls. Currently the Gross Enrolment Rate for nomadic children is merely 33 per cent implying that a large number of nomadic children remain out of school.

Here in Gedaref state, there are some 30,000 school-aged nomadic children – but only 8,200 attend classes. Of these, just 3,200 are girls. Education has not traditionally been considered as a priority area for investment either by local government or the nomadic communities. Over the last few years, however, community attitudes toward education have radically changed, with parents contributing up to 90 per cent of the costs associated with education of their children. In Wad-al-Mada School, parents contribute 5 Sudanese pounds (roughly US$ 2.50) per child, every month, to meet the running costs of the school – which includes stipends for volunteer teachers, accommodation for female teachers and purchase of textbooks.

Changing Pattrerns  of Nomadic

Traditional patterns of nomadic life are also changing with more and more nomadic families preferring to settle for a longer period in order to find relatively easy access to basic social services such as education, water and health in settled areas. Historically nomads would move every three months, making it difficult to organize learning opportunities for their children in a formal school setting. The State Ministry of Education and UNICEF have been supporting mobile schools, along with a mobile teacher, for nomadic families who still move long distances. Increasingly, nomadic groups are becoming partially settled with more stable houses, and few – mainly male – family members moving during the grazing season between July and October. During this time of the year, nomads will leave their children, women and the elderly to cultivate land around their settlements.