Prime Minister: More than 2,860 schools are out of service due to the Houthi militia war

Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak said on Monday that more than 2,860 schools are no longer able to receive students due to their complete or partial destruction or use as shelter or for other non-educational purposes.

This came in his speech at the special international conference to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of September 9 as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which was held at the National Conference Center in the Qatari capital, Doha, according to the Yemeni News Agency, Saba.

Organized by Qatar’s Education Above All Foundation, the conference, under the slogan “Education in Danger: The Human Cost of War,” highlights the grave violations suffered by the education sector and children in conflicts, with the attendance of world leaders, senior UN officials, and representatives of civil society organizations from around the world.

Bin Mubarak stressed that the Yemeni government is concerned with achieving peace, without which the existing challenges will increase and affect vulnerable groups, especially women and children. He noted the prominent role and tireless efforts made by the sisterly State of Qatar, in joint sponsorship with 62 countries, to designate September 9 of each year as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which was unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

He said: “Today, we join you in commemorating this anniversary, and my afflicted country knows what it means for the light of knowledge to be targeted by the caves of darkness and the militia of ignorance. The world bears witness that the buds of Yemeni hope, with their sound nature, clung to the spaciousness of knowledge in the destroyed schools, and refused to do anything but continue their educational journey under the roofs on the verge of collapse, and the walls whose deep cracks have drawn lines of pain that will remain engraved in the memory of generations.”

The Prime Minister stressed that ensuring access to safe and quality education for all school-age children is a government priority and commitment, in implementation of the commitment to international agreements and conventions related to education, as the government has taken measures and procedures within the available resources and capabilities to ensure the continuity of the educational process, the most important of which is the return of regular study and work with the curriculum approved in 2014.

In addition to maintaining and expanding damaged educational institutions, and providing teachers’ salaries on a regular basis despite their limitations, our country has recently committed to achieving the commitment to education as a fourth goal within the Sustainable Development Goals despite the great difficulties we faced in achieving that goal due to the major challenges created by the war.

Bin Mubarak stressed that the government will work in cooperation with international organizations concerned with education to assess the state of the education sector in preparation for developing solutions to protect it from collapse, pointing out that a transitional education plan will be developed that deals with education in emergency situations in coordination with partners.

He said, "When implementing, the need arose to develop a sectoral plan that overlaps emergency projects with sustainable projects. UNESCO will invite international organizations and donors to hold a conference to review it and give them the opportunity to present interventions within an organized framework. We hope to interact with and support these efforts."

He pointed out that developing the educational process in Yemen according to the educational curriculum approved by the state is one of the most important priorities that the government will work to achieve and will proceed to accomplish this goal with the capabilities available to it.

The Prime Minister renewed solidarity with all efforts aimed at protecting education from attacks, especially with our brothers in the State of Palestine. We condemn and denounce the systematic targeting of universities and schools in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation, the destruction of the educational system in the Strip, and the deprivation of the Palestinian people of all their rights, including their right to education.

He reiterated his thanks to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the founder of the “Education Above All” Foundation, praising her efforts and the efforts of the Foundation and its employees to ensure that the most vulnerable and marginalized groups have access to education to open up future horizons for them.

A number of speeches were delivered at the conference by the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Education Above All Foundation, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a number of representatives of countries affected by conflicts, all of which addressed the increasing number of attacks on educational institutions, which increased by 20 percent over the past year, and the importance of taking decisive measures to ensure that schools are places and protect students and educational staff from threats.