Sudan's University System After the 2023 War: Current Admission Status and Relocated Universities
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Jun 23, 2026 • Africa Admissions & Exams
Sudan's war, which broke out in April 2023, forced most public universities to close, relocate, or move classes online, and full normal operations have not returned nationwide.
⏱️ Fighting damaged around 120 public and private institutions, with losses estimated near $3 billion.
🎓 Some universities held lectures in safer states such as Red Sea, Gedaref, and River Nile, or switched to distance learning.
🏠 The University of Khartoum's main campus was retaken by the army in September 2024 after heavy damage from fighting.
📩 The Ministry of Higher Education ordered institutions back to their original licensed campuses by August 1, 2026, or they lose the right to admit new students for 2026/27.
What the war did to Sudan's universities
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in Khartoum in April 2023 and spread across several states in the months that followed. Sudan's university sector, concentrated in Khartoum State, took heavy damage. Research tracking the crisis puts the toll at around 120 public and private institutions damaged, with losses estimated near $3 billion, according to the Chr. Michelsen Institute .
The University of Khartoum's main campus sat inside a besieged part of the capital for over a year. Armed groups occupied buildings, and by the time the Sudanese Armed Forces retook the site in September 2024, classrooms, laboratories, and libraries were badly damaged.
How universities kept teaching
Universities in states that stayed relatively calm, including Red Sea, Gedaref, and River Nile, kept running classes and took in students displaced from conflict zones. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research pushed public universities to shift toward e-learning and distance platforms where campuses were unsafe, and it allowed credit transfers so students could continue coursework at a different university and later return to their original institution.
Only a fraction of the sector managed a full switch to remote delivery. Estimates from the Chr. Michelsen Institute put online continuation at about one in five institutions, with some exams held remotely or in exile locations such as Port Sudan and Egypt.
Current admission status
Admission has not returned to a single, predictable national process. Universities operating from safer states have continued intake for their available programs, while institutions still tied to damaged campuses in Khartoum State have had disrupted or delayed admission cycles.
In 2026, the Ministry of Higher Education set a firm deadline: universities and higher education institutions must return to their original licensed campuses by August 1, 2026, or lose the right to admit students for the 2026/27 academic year, according to The North Africa Post . The order pushes institutions still operating from temporary host campuses to move back to their licensed sites in time for the new academic year.
What prospective students should check before applying
Confirm directly with the university or the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research whether the institution is teaching from its original campus, a temporary host campus, or online.
Ask whether credits earned at a host university during the disruption transfer back to your intended degree program.
Check the National Council for Higher Education for the current list of accredited institutions and programs, since some private colleges suspended operations entirely during the war.
Expect delayed academic calendars. Semesters that would normally run on a fixed schedule have shifted by months at several universities.
Sudan's higher education system is rebuilding in stages rather than all at once. Verify any admission information against the university's own current announcements before you rely on it.