Entisaf Organization Warns of a “Total Collapse” of the Education System in YemenEntisaf Organization Warns of a “Total Collapse” of the Education System in Yemen

Entisaf Organization Warns of a “Total Collapse” of the Education System in Yemen

The organization for Women and Children’s Rights warned that the continued blockade and the deteriorating economic situation will lead to a total collapse of the education system in Yemen.

In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), the organization explained that while the world is commemorating the International Day of Education under the theme “Promoting Human Rights,” Yemen has been living under a suffocating blockade and a severe economic crisis for 11 years. These are among the primary factors that have caused a systematic collapse of the educational process and the interruption of teachers’ salaries for years.

It emphasized that education in Yemen is no longer merely a damaged sector, but is now facing a “total collapse” that threatens to erase the future of entire generations. She explained that direct targeting and the blockade have rendered thousands of facilities inoperable, with more than 3,768 educational facilities—equivalent to 11.5 percent of all schools—being completely or partially destroyed. Some have even been converted into shelters, while the number of internally displaced persons in Yemen has reached approximately five million.

The organization indicated that the very foundation of education has crumbled due to the interruption of salaries for more than 196,197 teachers since 2016. By 2026, the purchasing power of the remaining teaching staff had reached its lowest point, forcing teachers to leave the profession in search of livelihoods. This deprives more than four million additional children of their right to a quality education.

It pointed out that schools suffer from an annual shortage of over 56 million textbooks, rendering the educational process devoid of even the most basic necessities and reducing it to a mere formality. She explained that the number of students suffering from the deterioration of the education system and in need of emergency assistance has risen to more than 8.6 million, a significant increase compared to previous years due to new waves of displacement and worsening poverty rates.

According to the organization’s statement, international estimates for 2026 indicate that approximately 10.6 million students are bearing the brunt of the war, while nearly 4.7 million children face the imminent risk of dropping out of school. She further explained that the percentage of girls who have left school has exceeded 31 percent, leading to a rise in forced labor rates among girls to 12.3 percent and a frightening increase in child marriage rates as a desperate coping mechanism resorted to by impoverished families.

Entesaf  organization called on the international community and the United Nations to move from “concern” to “strategic action,” and to exert serious pressure to lift the siege and pay teachers’ salaries immediately, considering that silence towards what is happening is an indirect participation in destroying the minds of future generations.