School Doors: Bringing out-of-school children back into the classroom in Yemen

The program operates in Al Dhale’e governorate, with expansion to Sana’a and Hodeidah governorates in subsequent years. The project period spans from August 2018 to August 2021. Key highlights for the reporting period include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) and the International Aid for Yemen (IAQY) program. The IRC also met with the Yemeni Minister of Education, H.E. Dr. Abdullah Salem Lamlas, to discuss program activities and the signing of the MoU by the Ministry of Education. The meeting resulted in agreements to continue project implementation in Al Dhale’e, hold a joint meeting with Save the Children to ensure a common understanding of the project, and facilitate a review of the sub-agreement by the Ministry of Education. The program's goal is to provide access to safe, functional education for out-of-school children aged 6-14 in Sana’a, Hodeidah, and Al Dhale’e governorates. The IRC team has completed the process of selecting schools and community-based learning alternatives, identifying the targeted number of out-of-school children for each location. Teaching needs were assessed and identified in each proposed project site, with plans to establish 17 schools, 16 satellite classrooms, and 65 teachers in Al Dhale’e, Al Azareq, Ashuaib, and Qatabah districts. The IRC has also conducted an assessment of the availability and activeness of Fathers and Mothers Councils (FMCs) in the selected schools. As a result, two new FMCs were set up with 31 members, and 10 FMCs were reactivated with 173 members. A training for the FMCs is scheduled to begin at the end of April, followed by activities. The program's results include expanding access to safe, quality education, training teachers, providing psychosocial support to children, and ensuring education service delivery. The IRC has selected 65 teachers out of 296 interviewed, with plans to train them on quality education, social and emotional learning, and teaching in crisis. The IRC has also conducted a five-day Family Makes a Difference (FMD) training for 14 project staff to improve their skills in implementing activities and conducting trainings on good parenting for parents in the targeted areas. The program is facing challenges, including clashes in Al Dhale’e, which have not impacted project activities. The IRC is continuing to monitor the situation and is working to review and revise the IRC tools of Conflict Sensitivity Analysis (CSA) to ensure they do not provoke negative reactions. The program is also in the inception phase, and indicator tracking will become functional once activities commence.