UNICEF Representative in Yemen: 4.5 Million Children Out of School Is a “Time Bomb”... and Houthi Claims Are Baseless (Interview)

UNICEF Representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, warned that the presence of 4.5 million children out of school in Yemen is a “time bomb,” stressing that Houthi allegations that UNICEF and UN partners are colluding to destroy education in the country are “baseless.”

In an interview with UN News, Hawkins said that UNICEF is primarily working on rehabilitating schools in Yemen, having rehabilitated 1,116 schools, as well as motivating 38,000 male and female teachers to go to schools and teach.

The UN official said that the presence of 4.5 million Yemeni children out of school means that “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, and this will be more and more problematic as the country moves to the next stage with a new generation.”

Despite the challenges, Hawkins praised the “incredible resilience” of Yemen’s children and the incredible dedication of families to education. “I saw children in schools that had no walls, schools that had water on the floor, and yet the children were sitting on the floor in that wet condition, but they wanted to study and learn,” he said.

Full interview with UNICEF Representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, who spoke to UN News via Zoom from Taiz Governorate:

• The de facto authorities in Sana’a have recently made allegations that UNICEF and UN partners are colluding to destroy Yemen’s education system. How are you responding to these allegations, and what is your cooperation with the authorities now?

At the moment, the cooperation is mixed. As you mentioned, there have been some allegations about education and how education has been used to infiltrate the population. UNICEF has been very clear and refuted that allegation. That is an unfounded allegation, because the real program, our core education program, is very much about trying to rehabilitate schools. We have rehabilitated 1,116 schools.

The program is also there to play a role in motivating 38,000 teachers, which we have done. That program is coming to an end now. But we are also looking at other elements of education that are non-interventional and non-curriculum-based.

So, these allegations are baseless. We continue to work with the authorities, and we continue to try to address a catastrophic situation with 4.5 million children out of school in Yemen to allow them access to education and to provide them with some kind of quality education.

• Speaking of this catastrophic situation in Yemen, the 2024 Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview document showed that more than 4.5 million Yemeni children are out of school, which you mentioned a moment ago. Can you tell us more about this situation?

It's a time bomb. Basically, 4.5 million children out of school is a huge number. But more importantly, it means that in five to 10 years, you're going to have a generation coming up that is probably illiterate, that is probably innumerate, that has very little life skills and foundation, and that's going to be more and more problematic as the country moves into the next phase with a new generation.

So what we are trying to do is to ensure that schools are there and that they are functioning, to rehabilitate schools that have been damaged by the conflict, to ensure that teachers - especially female teachers - are able to come to school, to encourage children to go back to school, especially in September and October, when they can go back to school after the summer break, especially girls who are intermittently leaving school, especially when they are transitioning from primary to secondary education.

• Is the problem of not attending school different between boys and girls in Yemen?

Yes. There is a difference, especially towards the end of school age, usually between middle school and high school, where girls drop out in large numbers when they get married or when they have other duties at home. This is very worrying.

We need to ensure that girls are able to finish grade 12. This gives them choices about their future. It also delays things like marriage, issues of dropping out of school, and therefore not being able to achieve the maximum that they want to achieve. This is a problem.

• I'll come back to that big number again, 4.5 million Yemeni children are out of school. What are the main reasons behind that?

The main problem is the conflict. The conflict has damaged schools, the conflict has divided the country, so there is social division. The conflict has made livelihood a real problem.

So children inevitably drop out of school, don't go to school, and have other problems to deal with at home or on farms or elsewhere. But Yemeni children also have incredible resilience and families are incredibly dedicated to education.

I have seen children in schools that have no walls, schools that have water on the ground, and yet the children are sitting on the ground in that wet condition, but they want to study and learn. I have seen 12 girls in grade 11 sitting on the ground in the open under a tree, learning as much as they can and trying to accomplish something.

So on the one hand, there is a real problem of poverty, facilities and teachers. But on the other hand, there is a dedication to actually wanting to go to school. And finding that balance is crucial for the future of Yemen.

• Amidst all these challenges on the ground, what kind of support is UNICEF and its partners providing to the education system in Yemen?

This (support) is not enough, I want to say that frankly, because having 4.5 million children out of school is a real crisis, a huge crisis. What UNICEF is trying to do is rehabilitate schools, so at least they have the infrastructure.

What we also try to do is to ensure that teachers are motivated to go to school and teach, especially female teachers or volunteer teachers basically, because there is no salary structure, there is no management and development structure there.

We also work with communities to make them understand what learning can do, especially in some of these really poor communities or communities with a lot of displaced people, with semi-migrant populations, where we provide non-formal education to give them a bridge to formal education. They get a year or nine months of non-formal education, and then the next year they move into formal education.

• In addition to what you just mentioned, what is most urgent in the coming days and months to get Yemeni children back into schools and restore their right to education?

I think the most important thing - and this is very difficult to say because individuals are committed - but the institutions of the Ministry of Education of the internationally recognized government and the education authorities of the de facto authorities in Sana'a and around it really need to rethink a strategy that allows them to ensure and strengthen education at the primary and secondary level so that children, girls and boys, can go to school, so that girls and boys can move on to secondary education.

There is a real need for massive investment, both in terms of cash and political action and education. And we will help them on that journey. But they have to take the lead.

Source: UN News