SANA’A, Oct. 14 – Approximately twenty teachers gathered on 8 October to discuss the reasons for current low rates of admission of female students in Yemen. Among them was Ali Ghyath, head of the Educational Zone of Bani Al-Harith.
The discussion is a part of a campaign organized by the All Girls Society for Development, in coordination with CHF International, a non-governmental organization. A similar meeting was held on 12 October at the organization and included seven journalists. The objective was to explore how the media could help implement solutions to increase the admissions numbers for female students.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that nearly half of primary school age girls do not attend school. It notes that access to education is one of the biggest challenges facing children in Yemen today, with a particular impact on girls.
According to the Ministry of Education’s Comprehensive School Survey for 2006, 46 percent of Yemen’s 7.4 million primary school age children do not attend school – 3,971,853 in primary school. Altogether, 4,497,643 of children of all ages attend school. Yemen has 14,090 schools. Of these 9,224 are co-educational, with 8,638 in rural areas and 586 in urban areas.
The government says that the gender gap in education is “considerable”. While national illiteracy rates stand at about 30 percent for men, they exceed 67 percent for women.
In addition to the inequality that appears in education, urban-rural differences were also significant: 84.8 percent of urban and 68.9 percent of rural males aged 10 and above are literate, compared to only 59.5 percent of urban and 24 percent of rural girls, the National Document to Promote Girls’ Education in Yemen, said in 2005.
Based on such data, and under the slogan "It is my right to learn", the teachers, parents and media staff consequently joined to discuss measures that could be taken to encourage female dropouts to rejoin school.
Teachers present at the meeting mentioned that family is the most important factor in discouraging girls’ education: “Girls are removed from schools due to several problems, and family is the origin. Families need the cooperation of schools, other parents and NGOs" said Saod Al-Harazi, a teacher who attending the meeting.
According to Ayisha Al-Olofi, another teacher, financial demands are another factor that negatively affect education aside from family pressures. She also added that early marriage contributes to dropout rates in primary education.
Another issue brought up in the meeting was whether parents themselves understand the importance of education and the purpose of educating their children. ‘’Most fathers say that education is only found in the Hadith and Koran,’’ said Aoath Al-Bakery, another journalist.
Mass media was discussed as the most effective medium of promoting girl education, particularly by radio. “Girls’ education can be investigated and endorsed through the radio, which everyone can listen to. It is a medium of communication which even covers remote areas and is very popular,” said Abdul Aziz Awdhi.
However, another journalist opposed this view. “Radio is not an effective medium,” said Hani Al-Roushan from Nagah Journal.
According to him, other forms of mass media such as newspapers and television are far more effective means of communication.
Aoath Al-Bakery feels that it is the job of decision makers to reduce the number of girl school dropouts. Media can only act as a catalyst in this process. According to him, real life situations need to be examined before we can decide upon particular solutions. He has asked Saeeda T.V. to accompany him to see Al-Sunaina area, which apparently contains a high number of girl dropouts.
CHF International has produced an initiative to bring together various groups of women to encourage them to demand education. CHF International is supervising this campaign with the help of All Girls Society for Development to support girls’ education in the area of Bani Al-Harith from August to October.
The All Girls Society for Development is an organization established by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and strives to expand opportunities for Yemeni girls through education.
Around 84.8 percent of urban and 68.9 percent of rural males aged 10 and above are literate, compared to only 59.5 percent of urban and 24 percent of rural girls.