According to a recent report of the UN Childrens Fund, of the total children eligible for basic education throughout the country, only 41 percent of girls are enrolled, while boys account for 65 percent. In rural areas, the scenario is worse: only 30 percent of girls are in school. Half of the girls in primary school drop out before reaching the sixth grade, while two out of three women in Yemen are illiterate.
To boost female enrolment, the Yemen government recently waived tuition fees for girls, which was then equivalent to US$3 per year. According to village teacher Abdulmalik al-Kamali, the fees were not that much but still represented an obstacle for many poor families.
The decision to waive tuition fees targets one million girl students in primary education to bridge the gap between male and female education in the countryside, said Education Minister Abdulsalam al-Jawfi. It is also in line with the governments commitment to work towards achieving the goal of providing education for all by 2015, as embodied in the countrys Basic Education Development Strategy (BEDS).
Developed and implemented in 2002 by the government in partnership with the World Bank and donor agencies, BEDS focuses on increasing access to schools particularly for girls, improving and developing the education curriculum, and improving management in the Ministry of Education.
A report by the World Bank notes that the project has a maturity of 40 years, including a 10-year grace period. By the time the project is completed, it is expected that enrolment in primary education will have increased by more than 20 percent throughout the country.
BEDS Task Team Leader and Senior Operations Office Ousmane Diagana predicts, The project will have a far-reaching beneficial impact in Yemen. The reforms it supports are designed to create an education system in which the less well-off social groupsincluding girls, children with special needs and children in rural areaswill benefit increasingly from the nation's investments in education. These reforms will help to gradually change Yemens education system from one that is relatively costly and poorly managed to a system that is more efficient and relevant.
Sources:
IRIN. (2006). Yemen: government waives girls tuition fees to boost female enrolment. Retrieved May 20, 2006 from <www.irinnews.org.>
The World Bank. (2004). Yemen: World Bank Approves US$ 65 Million to Boost Basic Education in Yemen. Retrieved May 23, 2006, from <http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/0,contentMDK:20261552~menuPK:247612~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:256299,00.html>
Unicef. (2005). Promoting girls' education in Yemen. Retrieved May 23, 2006 from <http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_25167.html>
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