There’s a Surprising Divide Between Yemen’s Private and Public Schools

Despite being one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, and having become increasingly embattled with the continued  threat of  al-Qaeda militants, Yemen has made detailed pledges to improve the quality and accessibility of a compulsory national education system. According to the Ministry of Education, the 2003 National Basic Education Development Strategy  pledged to reduce illiteracy to less than 10% by 2025 and to provide basic education for 95%  of Yemeni girls and boys aged six to 14 by 2015. Moreover, the country could be on track with those goals according to 2010 UNICEF statistics, which report literacy rates for  Yemeni boys and girls at 96 and 72%, respectively.

Yet, like many countries, Yemen’s public and private schools produce different education results. However, local reports regarding the disparities between Yemen’s private and public school systems might surprise you. For example, although a total of 868 Yemeni private schools have popped up to encourage private sector investment in education, many stakeholders believe students receive a better education in public school. Despite access to better facilities, field trips, language courses, and computer-related subjects, many report that private schools’ quest to attract financial gain is distracting from a substantive education curriculum. One teacher noted that teachers have more autonomy to prepare and deliver lesson plans in public school, whereas, “[i]n private schools, fathers and the students themselves are the ones who determine the method used; if the teacher uses another method, he might be fired.” Also Yemeni public schools reportedly test higher than their private school counterparts.

As one Yemeni father put it, “Private school educations should be improved. The objectives of private school investors shouldn’t be economic and based on profitability…they should have developmental and humanitarian goals.”

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Written by Lauren Riggs