Sudan: University of Khartoum Counts Cost of Sudan War As 71 Percent of Academics Remain Abroad, Infrastructure Destroyed

What the report says

The University of Khartoum is struggling to recover from Sudan’s war, according to a Dabanga report distributed by AllAfrica. A new assessment from the university’s Academic Staff Association says 71% of surveyed academics are still outside Sudan, while major parts of the campus system have been damaged, including staff housing, lecture halls, laboratories, hospitals and most of the ICT network. The findings raise doubts about the university’s ability to fully restore in-person teaching soon.

The report says the university administration asked staff to return by 1 August 2026, ahead of plans to restart face-to-face teaching for all levels from September and shut down internal and external teaching and exam centres. But the association argues that the return plan is running into practical barriers: many students are also displaced, facilities remain only partly usable, and some programs face serious shortages in teaching and clinical supervision.

Dabanga reported that the university continued operating during the conflict through online classes and several exam sessions, and later held one in-person session in Khartoum. Even so, the academic body is proposing a transitional year with blended learning, a phased return for staff, and the reopening of external exam centres. The university, founded in 1902, is one of Sudan’s largest higher-education institutions, so its difficulties reflect the wider disruption to education caused by the war.