His family later moved and settled in Al-Ubayyid. At an early age he was sent to a Koranic school (خلوة) after which he followed the British education system in implementation by the British at the time. In 1947 he joined the newly established Hantoub Secondary School (مدرسة حنتوب الثانوية) and later went on to study at and graduate in May 1955 from the Faculty of Arts at the University College of Khartoum.