Yemen’s Education Infrastructures Badly Damaged by Saudi-Led War: UNICEF
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the ongoing Saudi war on Yemen has “badly damaged” the Arab country’s education infrastructures, depriving 2 million children from school.
“Teachers and school-based staff are required to go through a verification process as a pre-condition for payment. The first payment cycle has reached more than 97,000 of the intended teaching professionals,” Cappelaere said on Sunday, according to the official website of UNICEF.
“The situation of Yemen’s education sector is daunting. Out of 7 million school-aged children, over 2 million children are already out of school. School infrastructure is badly damaged and learning materials are in short supply. One in five schools in Yemen can no longer be used because they are damaged or being used in the fighting or to shelter displaced families,” he added.
“UNICEF has started paying incentives aiming to reach over 136,000 teachers and school-based staff in Yemen who have not received a salary in over two years, helping to keep children in school and learning”.
The UNICEF official further said, “Without a regular salary and due to the conflict and the ongoing economic crisis, teachers have been unable to commute to their schools or had to look for other livelihood opportunities to sustain their families.”
“The incentives from UNICEF offer eligible teachers and school-based staff a monthly payment equivalent to US$50 in local currency so that they can continue teaching and help prevent more children from dropping out of school. The scheme covers staff in over 10,300 schools and will benefit an estimated 3.7 million children”.
According to a report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.
