See the photo below about the state of education in yemen.
Provide:
a) insights/reflection
b) recommendation/conclusion
STATE OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT (EDUCATION) Education in Yemen is a government priority, some even say the top one, yet the poorest still struggle to benefit fully from it, and the gender distribution remains skewed. Education in Yemen has always been highly prioritized by the government. The development of the country's education sector for the past 10 years has received an average of 14 - 20% of total government expenditures. This was further increased to 38.2% in 2020. The ranking of the country however remains low as reported in the 2006 human development index figures which showed Yemen at position 150th out of 177 countries. Basically, the school system of Yemen consists of Basic Education, Secondary Education, and College. The Basic Education is free and open to all children 6-14 years of age. In addition to this, the government has instituted a school feeding program that aims to feed children from poor backgrounds. Secondary School education in the country is unique as the first-year curriculum is the same for everyone. After the first year, students have the option to choose between a scientific or literary path which means more math and science subjects for those scientifically inclined while the literary inclined would get more subjects relating to the arts, writing, and social studies. After Secondary School, a student may now enroll in any of the country's universities and as of now, there are about 9 public universities and 5 private ones. A boy in a classroom in Al-Fath School of Marib DUNICEF/2020/YPN governorate. The government has a compulsory free education program for children above 6 years and below 14 years but an enrolment rate of only 46% of eligible children actually attended school. Only 30% of the 46% were eligible girls who enrolled in the program. Another challenge is the lack of sufficient infrastructures including schools and classrooms and lack of teachers. Education in Yemen is still not good in terms of progress relative to its expenditures and also in terms of implementation of its programs. To help them avert the economic crisis commonly experienced in the country, Yemen should strive to provide quality education.Primary Education The basic education program lasts for 9 years and is compulsory in theory, if not universally so in practice. The process completes with the award of an intermediate school certificate. Secondary Education Secondary school completes the 12-year school education cycle. Students who choose to complete their university preparation follow a common curriculum for grade 10. In grade 11 they switch to literary or scientific tracks. At the end of grade 12 all write their general secondary education certificate. Vocational Education Alternatively, students may switch tracks and move to a technical secondary school, vocational training center, a health manpower training institute, or an agricultural secondary school according to their needs. In this way, a variety of different skills at different levels are acquired in a country continually crying out for more skilled hands. Tertiary Education Western-style tertiary education began in the 1970s when Sana'a University was established. Today, there are 9 state-funded ones, and a variety of private universities and colleges too. The Yemen University of Science and Technology was established in 1994 and has 4 faculties, namely medical sciences, science and engineering, sciences and humanities, and an international college that specializes in business, information technology, arts, and design. Challenges facing the education sector include poverty and low turn-out rates. The poorest still struggle to benefit fully from education and the gender distribution remains skewed. In 2020, COVID-19 posed a major challenge for the education system. The presence of two educational systems in Yemen with different administrations - North and South -pose a challenge to mount a harmonized country-wide response, while project implementation is a major issue with delays of up to 130 days common from UNICEF Yemen/2019/Ahmed Aldob signature to project to start date, particularly in the North. Alongside these, prior to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the central education issues in the Yemen crisis include widespread school closures owing to damage caused by the conflict, occupation by IDPs or armed elements, and insecurity around them.By early 2019, 43% of school-aged children across did not attend school. Multiple protection concerns include insecurity on the way to and from schools that are usually open, documented attacks on schools (in most governorates, 50% of schools are physically affected by the conflict), mines/UXOs, and the consequent MHPSS effects of all these, causing families to keep their children at home. Rates of child disabilities (as high as 10%) has meant children are not sufficiently included in educational interventions across the country. A 2019 study carried out in Abyan and Zinjibar found upwards of 33% of IDP children have a mental or physical disability. With low attendance pre-COVID, rates of child labor were high among boys, including its worst forms of labor that entailed forced or compulsory recruitment in armed groups and girls at risk of early marriage as a means of survival. UNICEF is appealing for US$576.9 million to meet the humanitarian needs of children and families and fulfill children's rights in Yemen during the COVID-19 pandemic which would see 850,000 children accessing formal or non-formal education, including early learning 850,000 children receiving individual learning materials and 1,000 schools implementing safe school protocols (infection prevention and control). It would also enable 60,000 teachers to receive teacher incentives each month. Public schools across Yemen almost universally lack poor infrastructure particularly adequate WASH facilities - 37% of schools in Aden for example were assessed to not have adequate WASH I have the right facilities (for instance 31 1 out of the 333 districts To be in School in Yemen reported cholera cases at the beginning of 2019 alone). When they are present, they are insufficient to the large school populations and UNICEF Yemen/2020/Mahm Maram Helmi Saleh, 13 years old, in the eighth do not account for girls' WASH needs grade expressing herself and demanding for her adequately. School materials are often right to be in school. inadequate at each stage of the learning process and are supplemented by families via personal means in an economy badly affected by conflict. Public school underfunding has also meant that teachers often experience massive delays in salary payment - a considerable disincentive for them to regularly teach at the schools which do function and often spurs them to seek out alternative livelihoods or supplement their income in other ways. School feeding programs (consistently reported as a 'must have' for children's attendance) as present in only 35% of schools in Yemen, also forcing individual schools and/ or or families to raise the funds independently. Yemen considers education vital to eliminating poverty and is focused on ensuring that all children have access to quality education. The country's development plans consistently prioritize human development and the education of the labor force. While access to basic education has improved, Yemen still faces significant challenges, including girls' enrollment, retention and completion rates, teacher quality and instructional materials, and emergency or conflict afflicted areas. Despite a humanitarian crisis and an economy in tailspin, about 90% of Yemen's schools are open, with the government trying to continue the education of over 5 million children and youth, 73% of the student population. Against the odds, communities are trying their best to keep schools going to prevent the school system from collapsing
