Education in Yemen: Paralysis in Taiz due to government neglect and generations with an unknown future

Education in Yemen is experiencing a major decline, and Taiz is witnessing a state of paralysis in the educational process as a result of government neglect and the deterioration of teachers’ living conditions without any solutions being put in place, which negatively affects students, as a recent report revealed that about 15.3 thousand students in Taiz dropped out during the first half of the current academic year.

Teachers in areas controlled by the legitimate government have been demanding an increase in their salaries and an improvement in their conditions for years, while the government has ignored these demands. This has been reflected in education in government schools, amid fears of an unknown future for millions of Yemeni students.

During the past months and weeks, teachers have held protests in a number of governorates, demanding the payment of their delayed salaries and the settlement of their situations, in light of the ongoing collapse of the local currency, as what a Yemeni teacher receives on average has become about 60 thousand riyals, equivalent to about 28 US dollars.

Faced with this reality, teachers in a number of governorates under the control of the recognized government carried out protests and a strike, which caused government schools to close and students to remain outside the educational laboratory.

Some of the teachers’ demands were met in a number of governorates. In Aden, an additional 30,000 riyals were approved for teachers’ salaries by a decision of the governorate’s governor. In Hadhramaut, a monthly incentive for teachers was discussed, as well as in Marib. In Taiz, their salaries were paid without any work being done to improve their conditions, which prompted the teachers to refuse to end the strike.

Teachers' strike in Taiz

Despite the announcement of the Teachers Syndicate in Taiz about The strike was lifted , but the teachers refused to return to school due to the lack of solutions to their living conditions. The teachers are demanding that salaries be paid regularly without delay, and that their conditions be settled, in a way that contributes to providing them with at least the requirements for living.

The Secretary of the Teachers' Union in Taiz city, Abdul Rahman Al-Maqtari, said, "The problem of salaries regarding the Taiz teachers has been resolved and disbursed. What remains is to approve their settlements, work nature allowance, rural allowance, and follow up on the bonuses during the past ten years."

Al-Maqtari added to "Yemeni Youth Net", "During the meeting with Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan, it was decided to form a joint committee to study and address the teachers' demands, including the commitment to disburse a monthly incentive of 30 thousand riyals, similar to the rest of the governorates, in addition to implementing settlements, including the settlement by qualification, the nature of work allowance, and the rural allowance."

According to Al-Maqtari, among the demands put forward are the completion of deferred bonuses, settling the status of 2011 teachers in terms of salary and allowances, and confirming teachers transferred from different directorates in their new workplaces, while raising the minimum wage and salaries and paying the salaries of teachers displaced from other governorates, confirming them, and resolving those with doubles and similar names.

Najeeb Al Kamali: During the past year, 229 thousand cases of school dropouts were recorded, and none of the parties concerned with the education sector paid attention to this catastrophic number.

The head of the Alef Foundation for Education Support, Najib Al-Kamali, said, “The years of war have produced a frightening and completely collapsed educational reality in all aspects and in all regions of Yemen, which places Yemenis facing an intractable educational crisis.”

He added to "Yemeni Youth Net", "The problem of education in Taiz Governorate, whether under the control of the Houthi group or under the control of the internationally recognized legitimate government, portends an imminent disaster for the future of generations."

Al-Kamali pointed out that the ongoing war in the city of Taiz has led to dozens of schools being out of service and the majority of students dropping out of school. He pointed out that "the initial statistics included 673 schools, which were surveyed by the Education Cluster in Taiz City, and revealed that 15.3 thousand male and female students dropped out in half a year, and the survey process is still ongoing."

The head of Alef Foundation explained that Al Wazi'iyah District ranked first in dropout cases with 4,447 dropout cases, followed by Jabal Habashi District with 2,497 cases, Al Ma'afer with 1,486 cases, Maqbanah District with 1,221 cases, Al Masrakh with 963 cases, Ash Shamayatayn with 938 cases, Al Mokha with 856 cases, Sami' with 315 cases, Haifan with 385 cases, Cairo with 307 cases, Sala with 262 cases, and Al Muzaffar with 125 cases.

He continued: "During the past year, 229 thousand cases of school dropouts were recorded, and none of the parties concerned with the education sector, whether governmental or international and local organizations interested in education, paid attention to this catastrophic number."

The disaster of school dropout

There are many reasons for the high rate of student dropouts from schools, and the most prominent reason is the living conditions that parents experience and their inability to educate their children, or push some to help them in providing living expenses, in addition to the conditions of teachers.

"The main reasons for school dropouts are the deterioration of the economic situation, overcrowding in schools, child labour, conflicts, fear, displacement, and early marriage," said Najib Al Kamali.

He added, "The education problem is not a recent development, but rather the result of decades of accumulation, during which the policy of ignorance has eaten away at the heart of the educational and pedagogical home in Yemen." He pointed out that "finding sustainable solutions is not an easy matter, but rather requires a sense of the extent of the problem, its seriousness, consequences, and disastrous dimensions for generations."

The head of Alef Foundation stressed the need to "find a clear vision to reform education and save it from a collapse that has recently reached its peak."

UNICEF has warned that the presence of 4.5 million Yemeni children out of school is a “ticking time bomb.” The organization’s representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, said, “In five to 10 years, the next generation may be illiterate, may not know how to count, and have very few life skills and foundations.”

The UN official considered that this will be more and more problematic as the country moves to the next stage with a new generation, according to an interview published by the United Nations in September 2024.