Students have returned to classrooms at the University of Khartoum after more than three years of war, even as parts of the historic campus remain badly damaged.
Footage filmed on Sunday shows students walking through the Central Campus and gathering outside the Faculty of Arts. Other shots reveal burned-out buildings and damaged lecture halls.
For science student Nasser Mustafa Hussein, the return carries particular significance.
“Today, the University of Khartoum is not ruins for us to mourn, but a beacon that lights our way. Its return is not merely a return to life, but proof that war cannot break pens and that bullets will not end an idea,” he said.
Students themselves have helped prepare damaged faculties for reopening. Suhail Saleh, secretary-general of an initiative rebuilding the Faculty of Science, said volunteers had cleared the site, with landscaping and new lighting planned.
“We have so far succeeded in achieving our objectives. We have completed the cleaning of the faculty, which was the main factor behind the resumption of classes at the Faculty of Science, alongside other faculties,” he added.
The Faculty of Science resumed in-person teaching at the Central Campus on October 11, as the university gradually brings students back following years of disruption.
Sudan’s war, which erupted between the army and Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, has displaced millions and left the country’s education system among the many casualties of the conflict.
Source: Viory
