We want to be heard,The future leaders of Yemen [Archives:2005/849/Community]

Suhayla Al-Hebshi
Level 3 Faculty of Arts
English Department
University of Science and Technology
Up to now, all we have been hearing are the teachers' voice or those people on top, but the students' voice is never heard. As long as our lecturers' problems last, students, either in private or in public universities, are also involved and have the right to express their attitudes clearly as being affected. In this investigation one is not looking for the wrong or right in the issue rather, representing the students' and teachers' attitude towards this situation.

Until recently, students in private universities have been studying peacefully far from governmental problems, until the last official decision was issued aimed at depriving them of being taught by qualified foreign teachers with whom we have started our classes and curriculums with.

That so- called- wise, well-reformed decision did nothing but evil as it satisfied nobody. The Yemeni universities with both private and governmental sectors have turned upside down and students are the affected ones. Neither teachers nor students benefited under this administrative decision out of which problems are increasing instead of being solved. Here, though, private-university students are supposed to be far from the domestic governmental problems, but on the contrary are deeply involved and suffering the results! Why? Why shall they stop in the middle of the road? They are merely students seeking their rights in learning. Is it fair to take away the qualified teachers from us all of a sudden and leave us hanging just because of materialistic matters?

As for private universities some urgent procedures have been done to cover and compensate their lost lectures but it was too late for the students to catch up, too late to adjust to a teacher's new ways and too late to start from zero. However, students in private universities do not have to complain for they are better off than hundreds of students in public universities who will complete their studies in their summer vacation. In fact they are all victims of administrative anarchy beside the governmental obstinacy, with their complaints falling on deaf ears. What will be the end? How will things take its way? Such official laws, even if it was already there but neglected, must be announced in the beginning of the year so that universities are able to work something out before disrupting the students' studies.

On the other hand, Yemeni teachers strongly reject such unstudied rules and regulations. Most of them are supporting the strike but very few teachers are against it. Some started to take pity on the students but the majority will still continue and will not give up until they achieve their rights and demands, which are as follows as mentioned in The Yemen Times:

1- 40% rise in salaries for the teachers and assistant staff.

2- RY 30000 is to be conceder as monthly housing allowance.

3- US$ 3000 for expenses of medical treatment abroad for incurable diseases.

4- Specifying a sum of money for each university in order to provide all medicine for the teachers' staff, their assistance, and their families.

Many professors announced their rejection and disappointment since the above clauses were not signed or written. In his weekly speech to 'Annas', Dr. Hassan Aljusha'i, the UST dean of the medical college stated that 80% of teachers have other jobs just to be able to afford a decent life for their families. He pointed out that it is none of our business to deprive them of having other sources of income to live.

Last but not least, I would like to remind the decision-makers that we are at their mercy. Situations will not get better by such threatening suppressive ways. There must be other strategies to solve the problem. Where have all the millions which are paid annually to Sana'a University as a support gone to? What happened to the education budget for universities? What are the teachers on strike doing now? Obviously as we all can see, there are no winners here but only losers. Is this the objective and goal of the government? Hopefully this problem will be solved soon so that our studies will not be affected. To destroy us is to destroy the future of Yemen, as we are the future leaders of Yemen.
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