Sudan’s Teachers’ Committee has sparked widespread controversy in educational and political circles after revealing what it described as a systematic fraud operation that targeted hundreds of students and families inside Sudan and abroad, under the guise of officially approved online education.
According to the committee, the case goes beyond a single fake educational institution and instead exposes an organised network with dangerous ideological and organisational links, alongside deep institutional loopholes that allow such corruption to pass without immediate accountability.
In a statement published on its official platforms and cited by media, the committee accused an entity calling itself “Medad Educational Foundation” of collecting large sums of money, particularly from Sudanese living abroad, in exchange for promises of accredited online education and official certificates. It later emerged that these claims were false, and that the exams conducted had no connection to the Ministry of Education and carried no legal recognition.
The committee said the foundation marketed its services using professional language designed to project legitimacy, relying on claims of official approval. This attracted many families, especially given Sudan’s exceptional circumstances and the growing need for remote learning alternatives.
What initially appeared to be a temporary solution to the education crisis turned into a financial and academic trap, damaging students’ futures and draining family savings, the committee said.
The most serious aspect of the case, according to the statement, is what the committee described as silent complicity by the Ministry of Education. It said it formally contacted the ministry and its undersecretary with clear questions about the legal framework for online education and whether the institution had received any approval. The response, the committee said, was a complete absence of answers, which it interpreted as an attempt to conceal or contain the scandal away from public scrutiny.
Suspicions deepened when the ministry later issued a statement acknowledging that an approval had been granted by Kassala state, while admitting that the institution violated the conditions of that approval.
The Teachers’ Committee described this as retroactive legitimisation of illegal practices and an effort to downplay the scandal after it had already been exposed, rather than launching a transparent investigation and holding those responsible accountable.
The most sensitive dimension of the case is the committee’s claim of possible links between the institution and networks connected to the global Muslim Brotherhood organisation, which is designated as a terrorist group in several countries.
The committee also referred to an audio recording attributed to a journalist discussing a meeting with the education minister in the context of handling the case. This raises questions about the nature of overlapping relationships between media, the institution, and the ministry, and whether these ties played a role in protecting a network suspected of money laundering under the cover of education.
What began as an alleged education scam has now become a real test of the state’s seriousness in combating corruption and separating education from ideological and financial exploitation networks.
