This technical report draws on data from multiple large-scale education programs in Yemen spanning 1995–2025 (Annex 1). It also incorporates critical analysis of key documents, including the most recent Education Management Information System (EMIS) report (2016), UNICEF Yemen Country Reports on Out-of-School Children (2015, 2025), Ministry of Education technical papers, Yemen Education Cluster (YEC) monthly and quarterly reports (2021–2024), and regional and in-country reports from UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, UN OCHA, and USAID.
Chapter one distills what works, what’s failing, where the highest returns on action lie and recommendations for:
1. Improve student access and sustained attendance for girls, boys, and marginalized children including children with disabilities.
2. Enhance student learning outcomes.
3. Support transitions into formal schooling at various grades and levels.
4. Attract and retain skilled teachers in non-formal education programs.
Chapter two examines the most effective approaches to addressing the priorities and concerns of parents, youth, and communities in linking out-of-school and non-formal education learners to future economic opportunities. This includes analysis of:
1. Access, safety, and learning environments.
2. Quality through system strengthening and capacity development.
3. Pathways linking youth to economic opportunities.
Chapter three proposes a way forward, emphasizing the value of engaging local actors in contextualizing and “Yemenizing” key knowledge—enabling them to better serve their communities and understand development processes.
How do we improve learning outcomes and how to measure it? Children accessing quality education in times of crisis is what non-formal education is all about.
Every Yemeni out-of-school child and adolescent is unique. Factors such as exclusion, poverty, geography, and gender bias shape their lives. From a policy perspective, investment in education is one of the most powerful tools for achieving sustainable development. Women and children constitute more than 70 percent of IDPs in Yemen, and approximately 30 percent of displaced households are female-headed, compared to 9 percent before the conflict worsened in 2015.
As of March 2024, 2,426 schools—15 percent of Yemen’s 16,034 total—were damaged or used for non-educational purposes; by February 2025, this figure had risen to 2,860. Around 16 percent of children aged 5–17 are engaged in child marriage or recruited into armed groups. Literacy rates in Yemen stand at approximately 43 percent—well below the Arab region average of 72 percent and the global average of 86 percent.
Yet there is hope. Proven, scalable solutions exist. Girl-focused mentoring programs—led by female teachers, older students, and caregivers—have raised academic performance, increased community participation, strengthened self-confidence, and made schools safer. The challenge is no longer knowing what works. It’s mobilizing the will and resources to deliver it—now.
For inquiries, please write to: Sam Alsarori, [email protected]
link