conversion, the distinction was in practice meaningless. In 1922 the government began to give some financial assistance to the missionary schools, and substantially increased it from 1926. The objective was to train southerners to be suitable for government employment as clerks, teachers, minor officials etc., and government inspectors were appointed to assist with the task. The first government school opened in 1940. Education was in local languages at primary level, and in English at higher level. In 1947 there were 70,457 students at government schools and 14,369 students and non-government schools in the north. There were 19.195 students at schools in the south. Independence and after The school system was in good shape at independence, and the new government continued to create new schools and universities. In 1989 there were five public universities and two private universities in Sudan. The Bashir government In September 1990 the Bashir government decided to Islamize the schools, backed by the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic teachers and administrators, who were the strongest supporters of the regime. A Muslim curriculum was devised and imposed on all schools, colleges and universities. It consisted of two parts, the first obligatory for all students and the second optional. All the essential elements of the obligatory course would be drawn from the Quran and the recognized books of the hadith. The optional course of study would permit the student to select certain specializations according to individual aptitudes and inclinations. In addition, membership in the Popular Defense Forces, a paramilitary body allied to the National Islamic Front, became a requirement for university admission. Within a year the government ordered that Arabic should be used as the language of instruction, replacing English. It also dismissed around seventy faculty members of the University of Khartoum, who were opposed to the new policy. It also ordered that the number of university students should be doubled, and that many new universities should be opened. These changes were very unwelcome in the South and contributed to turn the insurgency in the south into a real civil war. In consequence educational facilities in the South have largely disappeared. By 2006 there were 27 public universities, 5 private universities, 9 public technical colleges, and 46 private colleges. The IAU World Higher Education Database 2006 indicates that the number of students rose from 6,080 in 1989 to 38,623 in 1999/2000, an increase of 535%. Total tertiary