Official report: 1.4 mln children do not attend school in Yemen

SANA'A, Aug.29
(Saba)- A governmental report has revealed that there are about 1.4 million Yemeni
children
still outside education and unable to attend schools.
The report, issued recently by the Supreme Council for Education Planning which is
the highest regulatory body for education in the country, indicated that this makes
these
children live under the threat of illiteracy and represent a major tributary to
double the number of illiterates in the country.
The report pointed out that the basic education in Yemen still faces many
challenges, alluding that the basic education is not yet generalized.
The report attributed the causes of children illiteracy to the weakness of
educational services in some rural and urban areas located in outskirts of the
country.
These areas are distinguished by special circumstances hampering the provision of
educational services, as well as the widespread poverty that enforce parents to
withdraw
their children from first school grades and push them to the labor market, the
reported explained.
The report of the Supreme Council for Education Planning mentioned that the
drop-out rates of school children, who are between 6 to 14 years ages from the
first education
classes, amounted last year to 80.11 percent, while the rates of school year
repeating reached 74.5 percent.
Furthermore, the report recommended drawing a clear policy to strengthen the
capacities of the provinces provide educational opportunities and necessary
circumstances and
conditions to help pupils to flow to schools during the first education classes and
continue to complete their education.
It stressed the need to strengthen the provisions of educational process in the
first stage of the basic education, which represents the bedrock of subsequent
education
and ensures that the dropouts will not become illiterates in this stage.
BA