A modern educational system was established in Sudan in the 1970s, when the government reorganized a haphazard system of schools inherited from the British colonial government. In the Muslim areas of the north, boys were long instructed in religious subjects according to traditional methods. Primary education was begun by the British in the Sudan after 1898, and secondary educationbegan in 1913. The University of Khartoum was formally established in 1956 from the University College of Khartoum, which itself dated from the merger in 1951 of two smaller colleges founded by the British.

After being extensively reorganized in 1969 and during the 1970s, the Sudanese educational system was reorganized yet again in 1992. Under that system, eight years of primary education (later made compulsory in 1998) begin at age six. Three years of secondary education—either academic or vocational in nature—then follow. The primary language of instruction in primary schools is Arabic.

In addition to the University of Khartoum, higher education is provided by several other universities, including Al-Neelain University and Sudan University of Science and Technology, both in Khartoum, and Omdurman Islamic University, which trains Muslim clerics and scholars, in Omdurman. Between 1990 and 1995 the number of universities in Sudan more than doubled—the result of government efforts to expand opportunities for higher education. English was formerly the medium of instruction in the country’s universities and secondary schoolsbut has now been largely replaced by Arabic. Literacy rates in Sudan, although showing improvement since independence, are still relatively low when compared with the rest of the world: about three-fifths of adults in Sudan are able to read. There is a disparity in literacy rates between urban and rural areas: almost four-fifths of adults residing in urban areas are literate, whereas only about one-half are literate in rural areas.