Sudanese authorities close down Christian school attended by over 1,000 students
A Christian school in Madani, Al Jazira state was closed down by authorities last week, leaving over 1,000 of its students with no clear prospects for education.
According to a church leader, civilians who came in a bus from Khartoum were accompanied by armed police in the takeover of the Evangelical Basic School on Oct. 24.
The school has already been raided twice in the last two months. The staff members of the school were detained for four days for trying to prevent the authorities from seizing the institution, Morning Star News reported.
A source has mentioned that the National Ministry of Guidance and Endowments ordered the takeover so that it will be under the control of Islamist officials of Al Jazirah until courts can assign people to manage it.
An area pastor noted that the parents of the students participated in a protest last week to voice out their concerns for the education of their children.
"How can the government allow such an incident to happen to one of the best schools in the state?" said the pastor.
A legal advisor to the school has asked the government to resume the classes on Monday but it is still unclear whether the school would be allowed to open.
On Oct. 6, school headmaster Rev. Samuel Suleiman was arrested with Rev. Ismail Zakaria and seven other teachers. They were accused of resisting authorities because they objected to the takeover of the school. They were released on Oct. 9 after posting bail.
Suleiman was previously arrested on Sept. 5 with 12 teachers on the suspicion that they were supporting the rebel group known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North.
It was noted that the school administrators and teachers are ethnic Nuba. Members of the group are being increasingly targeted by the government. The Nuba people have previously complained to the authorities in Khartoum about neglect, oppression and forced conversions to Islam.
Sudan currently ranks as the eighth most difficult country to live in as a Christian in the Open Doors World Watch List.
