El Geneina. June 21(Darfur24)
The head of the Civil Administration in West Darfur State, Tijani El Tahir Karshom, said on Saturday that the civil administrations are considering holding Sudanese Certificate Examinations in Darfur and Kordofan.
The Sudanese Certificate Examinations were held last December and January for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict. They were limited to areas under army control in the north, center, and east of the country, excluding Darfur and most of Kordofan.
Holding the secondary school certificate exams only in areas under SAF control sparked widespread controversy in Sudan, with some considering it a prelude to the country’s secession and a deepening of polarization.
Tijani El Tahir Karshom said in a press statement coinciding with the start of the primary school certificate exams in West Darfur that the states of Darfur and Kordofan have begun seriously considering organizing the Sudanese Certificate Examinations.
He pointed out that the children of these states have been subjected to systematic and deliberate injustice by being denied the right to sit for the exams.
On Saturday, Karshom rang the bell in El Geneina, marking the start of primary school exams, in which more than 1,700 students are participating.
Karshom explained that the fact that West Darfur students sat for their primary school certificate exams today confirms the ability of the governments in Darfur states to manage exams at all levels in a professional manner.
He stated that the primary school certificate exams, which began today, Saturday, are being participated in by students from the children of internally displaced persons who arrived in West Darfur State, in addition to students from the children of refugees coming from refugee camps in eastern Chad.
For his part, the Director General of the Ministry of Education and Guidance in West Darfur, Abu Bakr Nasser, said in a press statement that more than 1,700 students are sitting for their primary school certificate exams, distributed across centers in the state’s various localities.
He added that they have completed all necessary administrative and technical arrangements for the start of the exams, with the intermediate school exams scheduled to begin on July 19.
The states of West, South, Central, and East Darfur are under the control of the Rapid Support Forces. They also control large parts of North Darfur and West Kordofan, in addition to areas in North and South Kordofan.