Private schools in Sanaa are profit-making projects at the expense of the sanctity of education (special report)

The decline of public education in Sanaa, which is under the control of the Houthi militia, and the deterioration it suffered as a result of the interruption of salaries, prompted school teachers to leave teaching and go in search of freelance work, in order to provide a living for their families. This matter and other factors related to Houthi violations in the field of public education, contributed to The rush of students to private schools, a large part of which has been transformed from sanctified educational edifices into investment projects.

Educational sources in Sanaa revealed to "Yemen Shabab Net" that the Houthi group imposed huge royalties on private schools, coinciding with the start of registration for this year, as schools were forced to provide financial levies amounting to ($50) for each student in the middle school, It is supplied to the account of the so-called Ministry of Education in the group’s (unrecognized) government.

The sources added that these levies vary from one stage to another, and increase in the secondary stage, which negatively affects tuition fees.

The sources report that the number of private schools this year reached (800) schools in Sanaa alone, many of which operate in ways that violate the law, without licenses, and carry out their educational activities despite the issuance of decisions from the concerned authorities to close them, indicating that the owners of these schools are seeking the support of Houthi leaders to prevent the implementation of these schools. Decisions.

Class discrimination and exorbitant fees

Parents of students complain of discriminatory practices affecting their children in some private schools, in addition to being harmed by the taxes imposed by the militia on those schools, which directly affects them.

Practices of class discrimination are confirmed by the incident that took place at the “Family School” located in the Al-Qiyadah neighborhood, which is run by Walid Muhammad Al-Hazi, where a teacher named “Fatima Al-Saadi” removed a student from her seat on the chair to make her sit on the floor, in order to make a seat for another student, “Al-Madani’s daughter.” "One of the supervisors of the Houthi militia, in a scene that reveals the extent to which Houthi practices based on class discrimination have penetrated the education sector.

Regarding the repercussions of Houthi levies on private schools in Sanaa, sources indicate that private school administrations raised tuition fees in the first educational classes to range between 130 to 150 thousand riyals, while in the remaining stages they reach 250 thousand riyals, equivalent to ($530). It increases in secondary school.

(Saeed Muhammad - 43 years old) confirmed in an interview with “Yemen Shabab Net” that the only people affected by these levies are the parents only, as private school administrations deliberately raised registration fees and persecuted employees by giving them low salaries, without considering their experience and qualifications. Especially, under the pretext of paying taxes.

He, a professor and father of two children receiving their education at the Sam 2 National School located in Old Sanaa, adds, “Private education has become an investment resource with no loss, and that what private schools are doing in raising registration fees is only one form of earning huge profits.” Which was determined prior to the opening of the investment project (private schools), without taking into account the living conditions experienced by citizens.”

He continued, despite the increases in tuition fees, these schools force students to buy books on the sidewalks of Tahrir Street in the center of the capital, due to the lack of provision of books by the relevant authorities in the Houthi authorities.

"Saeed" confirms that he works in a vegetable stand in order to provide for his household expenses, and to pay the rest of the registration fees for his children so that they will not be expelled from school.

Exploitation and “seasonal” salaries

 One of the teachers in a private school told “Yemen Shabab Net”: “The decline in education in the government sector has revived private education...which prompted wealthy parents to transfer their children from public schools to private schools, in order to obtain a better education, and this This created a thriving market for exploiting and employing newly graduated male and female teachers, or those with general secondary qualifications, especially women, in exchange for a seasonal salary during the school months only.”

Sumaya Abdel-Jabbar, 29 years old, a former supervisor at Anwar Al-Ghad Schools, complained that private schools exploited the needs of teachers. She said: “One of the students broke a window while I was teaching the lesson, so the administration took a decision that held me responsible for the window, and I was informed by the administration that the value of repairing it would be deducted.” "The window will be deducted from my salary at the end of the month, under the pretext that I angered the student."

In the same context, Sumaya adds that her colleague, in another school, was forced to carry the value of a student’s glasses after they were broken as a result of a joke between the student and his colleague.

Sumaya indicated in her interview with “Yemen Shabab T” that she and her fellow employees who face provocations and the difficulty of working in private schools are steadfast despite these challenges in performing their jobs as teachers in the private sector. They are in dire need of this small salary, given the large number of applicants to work as volunteers, and the lack of... The existence of an alternative, in the absence of a government job.

She adds: “They are forced to remain under any oppression, and this is what makes school principals take advantage of the difficult living conditions that teachers live in...”

Sumaya concludes her speech by saying that the nature of work in private schools considers everything that is inside the classroom of furniture, whether it is a blackboard, a chair, a window, or even the students’ glasses, and any defect in the blackboard, a broken window, or a student’s glasses falling, is the responsibility of the teacher. The teacher is punished if it happens during his class, and the repair value is deducted from his salary, which barely reaches (40 thousand riyals).