Yemen

Access to quality education

Yemen is illustrative of how poverty and population growth are detrimental to fulfilling the right to quality education. The Government has allocated more than 20 % of its budget to education, and Yemen has received extra financial support from the international community (the education development partners). Yemen has a high illiteracy rate of 45%. Net primary enrolment rates remain among the lowest in the Arab world. Rural poor girls are most left out, too many children do not complete a full course of education and the majority dropping out of school is girls. The estimated 5% of children living with disabilities in Yemen are rarely enrolled in schools especially in the rural areas. The lack of birth registration of a significant number of children in Yemen has negative consequences for the timely enrolment and access to education. In addition very minimal pre-school education is available. A vulnerable group in Yemen is the Somali refugees whose enrolment rate does not exceed 44% in Aden city (27% for girls) while the enrolment rate inside Kharaz camp reaches 71%. The thematic program for education in Yemen will ensure access to basic education for disadvantaged children namely girls, refugees, CwD and children from rural areas through: creating an enabling social and policy environment for inclusive education, CRC education for children, removing barriers to education for refugees and the socially marginalized “Akhdam” children, increased parents participation in schools and active coordination between CBR networks and schools. The thematic program will also ensure Yemeni children’s right to quality inclusive protective education through promotion of active learning methods, a healthy physical environment, child protection in schools, numeracy and literacy skills, as well as awareness of hygiene and nutrition among children.

The education officers within the Yemen office will support partners in the implementation of the project through providing technical input and linking them with other actors in the same field for mutual benefit. The regional education manager will ensure lessons learned and success stories from the Yemen education projects are linked to other regional/international initiatives between different SCS countries, partners and alliance members. SCS staff will also support partners in advocacy, fundraising and capacity building for children’s rights to education. The linkage between protection and education will also be an added value for SCS work on education in Yemen. SCS has a long and constructive relationship with MoE especially with the IE and the training departments.

Direct support: SCS in Yemen will support the ministry of education in increasing the physical capacity of schools for enrolling more children, especially in the so called Inclusive Schools;

SCS will also support the development of the inclusive education department within the ministry at central and governorate level and directly support 35 schools in the south. SCS will continue to run two schools for the Somali refugees based in Kharaz camps and one in Aden city.

SCS will also endeavour to initiate interventions with the urban refugees in Sana’a city and to that as a part of the SCUS work of priority food distribution within a school setting might become a part of work.

Technical support to partners will be provided in inclusive education, positive discipline, advocacy and CRC. Research: Baseline research with disaggregated data based on gender, rural areas, nationalities and special needs will be conducted to map quantitative and qualitative progress of projects.

Advocacy: The Implementing policies and the development of policies to include more children in school will be an important aspect of our advocacy work in education.

Child centred advocacy will be used to highlight key messages for access and quality of formal and non-formal education, along with civil society for a, especially parents through fathers and mothers councils.

SCS will also support child led organizations.

Capacity building: SCS will support partners through training of teachers and head masters on the inclusive education index, school management, SHN (school health and nutrition), hygiene and alternatives to PHP. The work with selected partner organizations working on disability will continue.