Thesis (PH D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1940. / Published also without thesis note.

The purpose of this study was threefold: to trace the historical development of the problem of national integration in the Sudan; to analyze the role of education in that problem; and to formulate and recommend an appropriate role for education to assume within the context of the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972.This study was based on the following four assumptions:1. The Sudan has both Arab and African cultural characteristics which should be the basis for national integration.2. In the light of the strong sentiment against secessionist movements among African leaders, there appears to be no negotiable alternative to some form of accommodation within the context of one Sudan.3. It is possible for both Northern and Southern Sudanese to coexist with neither losing the greater part of their cultural identity.4. Education can play a major role in the process of national integration.After the establishment of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium in the Sudan in 1899, the British recognized the distinctively African character of the Southern Sudanese as opposed to the Arab and Islamic character of the Northerners. The British formulated a policy known as The Southern Policy in 1930. The objective of this policy was the containment of the Arab and Islamic culture in the Southern Sudan. Christian missionaries were allowed to proselytize only in the South and in the non--Arab districts of the North. In 1946, the Southern Policy was abandoned and a new one based on a united Sudan was formulated, but the dual system. of education was maintained. Education in the North was along Arab and Islamic lines whereas the Southern one was along African lines.After the Sudan gained independence in 1956 the new Sudanese government dominated by the Northerners decided to take over all the missionary-owned schools in the South, purportedly in the interest of a uniform national system of education. This quest for a national system became a deliberate attempt to Arabize the South, especially during the six years of military rule by General Abboud (1958--1964). The Southern resistance grew into a guerrilla struggle when the military government adopted repressive measures.The military regime collapsed in 1961, but the subsequent civilian governments could not resolve the North-South conflict. It was not until 1972 that the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed, ending the seventeen year armed conflict. This Agreement granted the three Southern provinces local autonomy within the framework of a united Sudan. It is within this context that the following recommendations for education have been made in this study:1. Both African and Middle Pastern history should receive special emphasis in the general history curriculum for secondary schools.2. National sea-vice and multicultural education should be emphasized in teacher training.3. The hierarchical prefectorial system of student government should be abandoned in favor of a more democratic system.4. Tolerance for diversity of opinion and culture should be emphasized as well as pride in national achievement.The chances for the institutionalization of the Addis Ababa Agreement are as good as those of the permanent constitution in which it has been enshrined. However, there is always the prospect of a hostile coup d'etat which could easily lead to a revival of the old North-South conflict.