Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is four. Compulsory pre-primary education is not granted in legal frameworks. The net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes was 36.78 in 2019.
Governance
Pre-primary education in Sudan consists of a two-year programme for children aged 4–5, delivered by government, private providers, and communities under standards set by the Federal Ministry of Education. Governance and financing are shared across levels: the federal ministry is responsible for policy, planning, curriculum, and resource mobilization; state ministries oversee provision; and local authorities manage delivery and day-to-day funding.
Tuition-free status
Two years of free pre-primary are education granted in legal frameworks.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
In Sudan, financial resources for pre-primary and basic education are transferred from the federal government to the states through four main mechanisms. The first consists of current transfers, which are distributed according to a horizontal allocation formula developed by the Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission (FFAMC). These are the main vertical transfer from the National Revenue Fund, allocated through the FFAMC’s formula. They are non-earmarked, assumed to finance recurrent costs like teacher salaries. This formula assigns weights to eight factors: population size and density, agricultural needs, security, education levels, health, financial performance, distance from the centre and the port, and revenue excluding transfers. The second mechanism is state development transfers, which are linked to the implementation of planned, ongoing, or completed development projects. Third, specified transfers are directed to institutions that receive direct federal support. Finally, special transfers are provided for defined programmes.
These transfer mechanisms are based on the Wealth Sharing Protocol established under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which sought to reduce disparities in revenue generation among states. Funds are allocated using criteria such as the student–population ratio, the teacher–student ratio, and the total number of students. While these indicators capture aspects of education demand and staffing, they do not take into account other equity dimensions, such as out-of-school children or differences in access by gender and by location between urban and rural areas.
2. Education resources to institutions
Pre-school funding in Sudan is primarily decentralized to the state level, with state ministries receiving financial transfers from the federal government to manage education services. Funding is guided by Sudan's current education sector plan, the Transitional Education Plan (TEP) 2025–2027, which provides an overarching strategic framework to sustain learning for vulnerable school-aged children and restore access to education amid ongoing conflict. Priority measures through 2027 focus on reopening schools, providing remedial education, protecting education infrastructure, ensuring teacher salaries and training, and addressing the needs of out-of-school children.
No information was found on specific funding schemes that allocate resources to disadvantaged schools or those serving target groups as of 2026.
3. Education resources to students and families
The Federal Ministry of Education’s General Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018/19–2022/23 prioritized conditional grants to poor households to ensure children enroll and complete school. These grants supported the purchase of school supplies and assist households with children engaged in child labour. They also addressed humanitarian commitments by supporting refugee host communities with facilities that promote integration. Grants were channelled through households, which must guarantee their children’s continuous school attendance.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Several social programmes have previously existed in Sudan to support children and families. However, government-funded cash transfer systems have not been operational in Sudan since 2021. Prior to this, the World Bank-supported Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP) provided unconditional cash transfers to help households meet basic needs, including education costs. The SFSP aimed to reach approximately 80 percent of Sudan's population through monthly transfers before these were frozen in 2021. Before that, the government ran the Social Initiatives Program (SIP), established in 2011, which provided monthly cash transfers to about 500,000 poor households. The programme also supported disadvantaged groups, including rural women and people with disabilities.
