Report: 6 million students in Yemen suffer from the collapse of education as a result of Saudi aggression and siege

Entesaf Organization for Women and Child Rights revealed that about 6.1 million male and female students in Yemen suffer from the collapse of the education system as a result of the continued aggression and siege that is led by the Saudi kingdom and backed by the US and the UK.

The organization confirmed in a report published today, Tuesday, on World Education Day, January 24: that there are 2.4 million children out of school, out of an estimated 10.6 million children of school age (from 6 to 17 years).

The report indicated that the number of children who face interruption in education may rise to six million, while 8.1 million children need urgent educational assistance across the country.

It explained that nearly 3,500 schools were either destroyed or damaged as a result of the Saudi raids, with about 27% of schools closed across the country, in addition to 66% of schools being damaged due to direct raids, and 7% of schools were used as shelters for the displaced.

The statement pointed out that teachers have also been affected by the aggression and siege, as an estimated 171,600 male and female teachers – or two-thirds of the teaching staff – have not received their salaries since 2016, and therefore have stopped teaching to find other ways to support their families, which exposes nearly 4 million additional children of not getting access to education.

The report indicated that 31% of Yemeni girls are out of school, as a result of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the inability of their families to pay for their educational needs.

According to the statement, the number of children who were victims of the aggression during this eight-year-old war rose to 8,159 dead and wounded, explaining that the number of dead children is 3,883, while the number of wounded reached 4,276 until January 23.

The report said: 12.6 million children require some form of humanitarian assistance or protection, and it is estimated that poverty rates have risen to about 80%, and out of every 10 children, more than 8 children live with families that do not have sufficient income to meet their basic needs.

The report noted the expansion of the phenomenon of child labor during the aggression by more than four times what it was previously, indicating that 1.4 million working children are deprived of their most basic rights, and about 34.3% of working children are between the ages of 5 and 17 years.

The organization held the aggression coalition, led by America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for all crimes and violations against civilians, especially children, calling on the international community, international organizations, human rights and humanitarian bodies to bear legal and humanitarian responsibility for the violations and heinous massacres that occur against civilians.

Entesaf organization called on the free people of the world to take effective and positive action to stop the aggression and protect civilians, and to form an independent international commission to investigate all crimes committed against the Yemeni people, and to hold accountable all those found involved in them.