This Web Page is Yemeni Expectations about School and Community
what is
Islam?
the ideal muslim
Most
Yemenis are Muslim, or they follow the Islamic code of life. Muslims are disciplined,
strict and take school very seriously, for sons and for daughters. The history
and evolution of education in Yemen is very interesting. Community life plays a
big part in banding Yemenis together. There is certainly a new and sustained
interest in the study of Islam and Muslim societies, especially given the
deficiencies in knowledge highlighted through various governmental and media
pronouncements on the subject. In fact, books on Islam, including those
produced by academics, have been enjoying an international sales boom, whilst
the Qur'an has been reprinted to meet a growing demand, and newspapers have
introduced basic guides to Islam. These in themselves have been revealing, in
the forms of Islamic expression that have been emphasized; there may be little
attention paid to the cultural and religious diversity under the umbrella of
Islam, with a focus instead on political rhetoric and activism at the expense
of quietist, mystically oriented beliefs.
There
may be an increase in demand for academic courses at university level in the
study of Islam and Muslim societies, as well as the need for more specialists.
It has been suggested that there is also a broader interest in the study of
religion, and perhaps the moral and ethical issues associated with the conflict
in Islamic nations. The need for improved knowledge about religion has
especially been highlighted during recent events with the deficiencies in
governmental and agency intelligence on the religions, cultures and languages
of Asia. President George W. Bush himself acknowledged that a theologian would
have been useful on his team, especially given the unfortunate application of
the terms 'crusade' and 'infinite justice' during initial pronouncements on the
crisis.
Historically,
state education for Yemeni girls during the British occupation of South Yemen
(see history) was almost non-existent outside the capital, Aden. The only
girls’ secondary school was one girls’ college in Khormaksar. Two private
schools that went to secondary level were the Order of St. Francis convent
schools in Crater and Steamer Point.
In the north, education for both
girls and boys developed in leaps and bounds after the death of Imam Ahmed in
1962, and the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic under President Sallal.
Prior to this, the only education for girls had been at Islamic schools, ‘al
ma’laamah’, where the Koran was memorized, or in schools built in various
villages through local initiative. One such school was built in al-Aboos in the
late 1950s. Before this time it was very unusual to send a daughter away to
school, however, more and more families have realized the importance of
education for both sexes. Education has changed completely over the years,
especially in the north at tertiary level, where many girls live in Sana’a, the
current capital city at university hostels so that they can pursue their higher
education. Another interesting feature in present-day Yemen is the focus on
vocational training for females. The success of these courses led people to be
more relaxed about letting their daughters go to the cities to train as nurses
and teachers. As in most countries, nursing, midwifery and teaching are
regarded as worthwhile and honorable careers, especially for women.
With independence in the south in
1967, major education plans were put into place, despite severe financial
constraints in the new republic. Education for all was seen as a way forward
and a huge training and building program began. With help from friendly
neighboring countries and various aid projects, schools and vocational training
centers were established. A very real attempt was made to provide education in
all areas of the republic for at least the first eight years of schooling.
Programs on radio and TV emphasized the importance of education for both girls
and boys.
A Yemeni teacher describes: “A
huge literacy program was also devised. This was given the final major thrust
in 1984/5, when schools were closed for a further three months following the
summer break, and those six months were used to provide blanket coverage of the
whole country, every tiny village, even including the island of Socotra. Every
teacher in the country was involved, special books had been printed and the
basics of language and math were taught. Needless to say, the program was a
huge success, and is a very real example of what can be done with determination
and planning.”
She goes on to describe the two
Yemens: In the 1970s, Yemen was still separated into North and South and the
education systems were quite different. In the south, education was based on a
system of ‘unity’ schools for the first eight years, then four years of
secondary school, with a choice of academic, vocational, technical or teacher
training education. Out of the total enrolment of 351,000, about 89% were in
unity schools. In the north the school system consisted of six years of primary
school, three years of intermediate and three years of secondary schooling. In
the mid 1970s, enrolment in the north was about 94,000. This had increased to
1,400,000 by 1990.
Both parts of the Yemen were
suffering the same kinds of problems: insufficient government budgets, lack of
Yemeni teachers, overcrowding, inefficiency in management, urban and male bias.
Since unification in 1990, these problems have certainly been compounded in the
short term, with the added considerable challenge of establishing a national
administrative system that has to cope with an ever-rising demand for
education.
The government of the Republic is
now integrating the two systems into a unified nine years of basic education,
followed by three years of secondary schooling. The problems of adding a ninth
year to schools in the south can be immediately appreciated, with the added
burden of providing more classroom space, teachers and materials, and a new
curriculum for the eighth and ninth grades. External influences have added
further burdens, such as 150,000 students who had to be absorbed in 1990-91,
when they returned with their families from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. A system
already unable to provide enough classes, teachers and materials was
overwhelmed by this influx, but has coped admirably given the circumstances.
Education Statistics for
1990-92 the
sources of which are the Ministry of Education and the World Bank.
The educational bias in the Yemen
is towards males, urban populations and also for primary and intermediate
levels. 2,290,000 students, 92% of total enrolment is within the first nine
years of education, with less than 5% of all students enrolling at secondary
level. In basic education (grades 1-9), only 24% are females. In grade 1, girls
account for 31%, but by grade 9 this has dropped to 11%. In the first six
grades, girls account for 27% of all students, but by grades 7-12, it has
fallen to 14%. An estimated 54% of
six-year-old girls do not start school, with a corresponding 8% of boys
of the same age. It is therefore obvious that not only do fewer girls start
school, but they drop out at a faster rate than boys. This has resulted in a
male dominated school system, with the prospect of numbers of illiterate Yemeni
women likely to continue to rise in the future.
The urban/rural bias is quite
severe. 80% of Yemenis live in rural areas, but over 50% of total enrolments in
general education are in urban areas. This means that while most urban boys
will be educated, rural girls will not be. Low enrolment of females is
contributed to: conservative attitudes that frown upon males teaching young
girls, some parents’ aversion to mixed schools, the feeling that education is
irrelevant to a girl’s future, the distance from schools in rural areas, lack
of parent awareness of when to send children to school, dissatisfaction with
the lack of qualified Yemeni teachers, lack of books and teaching materials and
parents’ financial constraints. Where conditions are propitious, female
enrolment tends to be high; in some urban areas girls make up 50% of primary
enrolment.