The child Abdu Al-Rahman Hasan Jassar (12 years old) seems to be somewhat fortunate as he was able to complete his education, compared to other children in Raiymah governorate, whose parents' difficult financial circumstances forced them to terminate their education and go to work to help their families. The number of children who drop out of school in the country in general is estimated to be more than two million, more than double what it was before the war, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The dream of Jassar, an outstanding student who always wins first place in all classes of the elementary stage, to leave school after graduating from it, but this dream was dispelled after the Education Office in his district announced the cancellation of the preparatory and secondary education stages in (Khaled bin Al-Waleed) school in Al-Hotom area of Raiymah - the school where Jassar studies - due to the dwindling number of students enrolled and the limited number of the teaching staff.
However, his father, a simple farmer, refused to surrender to reality, and decided to send his son to the capital, Sana'a, to resume his schooling in a private school, despite the high fees so that he wouldn’t miss the current school year, after he was closer to leaving education and working in agriculture with his father or in the market.
Abdu Al-Rahman's father told "Khuyut" that: " Abdu Al-Rahman is my only son, and my only dream in this world is to see him one day celebrating his graduation from the university, to be the first member of the family to reach higher education, and survive the toil and misery of agricultural work."
The percentage of students enrolled in Khalid Bin Al-Waleed School in Al-Hotom has decreased since the beginning of the war, bringing the total number of students enrolled in the school this year to only 60 male and female students, most of whom are in the first grades, while the average enrollment before the war was no less than 500 male and female students each year.
Currently, Abdul Rahman lives with relatives in Sana'a to continue his education, but he has difficulty adjusting to living away from his parents. Jassar says to "Khuyut": "Every morning, I wait for my father and mother's voice when I wake up, inviting me to have breakfast with them, then I remember that I am far from them, so I find nothing but tears that I shed on my bed. Then, I wipe them well so that no one would notice me, after which I get ready to go to school. On my way, no man or woman passes in front of me without imagining them as my parents so I would love to embrace them and kiss their heads.”
Jassar continues: "But my goal is to fulfill my father's dream of graduating from the university, and my dream is also to become a doctor to treat the people of my area who are deprived of the minimum basic health services, which makes me tolerate all these sufferings and hardships."
School students are at risk
Abdul Rahman was among 15 male and female students who graduated from the sixth grade last year at their school in Al-Hotom area, including five female students. At the beginning of the current academic year, only five students applied for registration in the preparatory stage, and Abdul Rahman was one of them.
The percentage of students enrolled in Khalid Bin Al-Waleed School in Al-Hotom has decreased since the beginning of the war, bringing the total number of students enrolled in the school this year to only 60 male and female students, most of whom are in the first grades, while the average enrollment before the war was no less than 500 male and female students each year, according to a school employee who preferred not to be named.
The source describes - lamenting - the state the school has recently reached to "Khuyut", saying: "The school lost half of its educational staff, including 5 specialized teachers from Taiz, who were teaching scientific subjects for the middle and high school classes. They were forced to leave and return to their governorate after their salaries have been halted."
Everyone pays the price
It is worth noting that this situation was not limited to Khalid Bin Al-Waleed School in Al-Hotom area only, but also affected (Al-Ikhlas) School in the neighboring (Bani Hittar) area, where the secondary education stage was canceled at the beginning of the current academic year as well, by the Directorate of Education in the district. While the "Al-Salam" primary and secondary school in the neighboring "Millal" area had closed its doors to students, and stopped working completely, during the past two years for the same reasons, to reopen its doors this year, but for the primary stage only.
Because of this situation and the economic conditions, many families in Raiymah were forced to suspend their children schooling and send them to work in farms or in the cities, to help meeting the family's essential needs.
Moreover, the cessation of the salaries of state employees led many teachers to leave their schools in Raiymah, especially those who came from outside the governorate, and left for their provinces, looking for other sources of income, after they were unable to stay in those schools without salaries. As a result, most schools of Raiymah have been suffering huge gap and deficit in the teaching staff.
Statistics of the Education Office in the governorate show that "the total number of girls' schools in all districts of the governorate does not exceed 14 schools, out of 482 mixed-gender schools," most of which are concentrated in the governorate capital and district centers.
On the other hand, those who remained in the governorate of Raiymah, performing their teaching duty in their schools, in exchange for sacrificing the future of their children education, according to the statement of Mohammad Al -Haddad, one of the teachers in the area, in his interview with "Khuyut".
Al -Haddad said that: "After our salaries and many of my fellow teachers in the area were suspended, we had to sacrifice the future of our children in education, and send them to work in cities, to cover the needs of our families, while we remained steadfast in our schools performing our duty to the fullest. Unfortunately, we did not find any appreciation for our efforts and sacrifice either from the authorities, or organizations. Even the incentives that teachers used to receive on monthly basis were ceased without knowing the reasons. "
Tough Alternatives Offered
The Education Office tried to alleviate the effects of its decisions by providing limited solutions, by reopening the preparatory education phase in the Al -Thawra School in the neighboring village of Al -Qubal, which had stopped years ago due to the conflict. Consequently, the students of the school who graduated from the elementary classes, in addition to the students of Khaled school and other primary schools in the area, resumed their schooling in Al –Thawra school, while high school students will have to registration in Al -Hamza bin Abdul -Muttalib School in the neighboring area of "Awalah".
However, these solutions will add other challenges to students, including that; the preparatory stage students at Khaled School will need to walk for an hour to reach the Al -Thawra School, while high school students in Al -Ikhlas School will need an hour to two hours, to reach Hamza School, travelling through high mountains and rugged paths on feet, back and forth on a daily basis.
Furthermore, many families are hesitant to send their daughters to a school outside the borders of their village, and allow them to travel those distances on their own, in addition to their reluctance to study in mixing classroom in the preparatory stage in view of the lack of female schools in the whole area.
It is worth noting that the district schools are distributed in unoccupied places which are far from the population gatherings, where long distances separate those schools from the villages and high -rise mountains and very rugged roads, which represents a great difficulty for the access of male and female students, especially schools that are outside the areas of population gatherings.
According to an official statistic, obtained by "Khuyut", from the Al -Thawra School, "the number of students applying for the preparatory stage this year reached 40 students, in the three grades, including 12 female students," and that number represents the outputs of three primary schools in the area, and dozens of villages.
According to a previous official statistic, the girl education department at the Education Office in Raiymah, that in 2018, about 17858 girls who left the classroom in the governorate were recorded.
Statistics of the Education Office in the governorate show that "the total number of girls' schools in all districts of the governorate does not exceed 14 schools, out of 482 mixed-gender schools," most of which are concentrated in the governorate capital and district centers.
UNICEF repeatedly calls on all parties to the conflict, to "stop targeting schools and educational facilities, not to harm children and education staff, and to preserve schools as safe areas, as well as ensure that teachers and education workers receive their salaries so that they can perform their basic tasks, and children can continue their education", but to no avail.
