Paris, 07/02/2013

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and Irina Bokova, DG of Unesco, Launch Project to Strengthen Education System in Yemen

Mrs Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, and HE Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, UNESCO Special Envoy for Education, Tolerance and Cultures, today launched a project enabling the development of an integrated, sector-wide strategy to address the challenges facing the education sector in Yemen.

HE Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and UNESCO Director-General Mrs Irina Bokova sign an agreement to support the transition in Yemen through strengthening the education system	HE Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and UNESCO Director-General Mrs Irina Bokova sign an agreement at UNESCO Headquarters on 7 February 2013

In response to requests made by the Yemeni Government, and in partnership with UNESCO, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, on behalf of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, has agreed to provide $1million to fund a two year project in Yemen. The project, working with the Yemeni Ministries of Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Higher Education and Research, will be focused on improving and strengthening the education system and its service delivery. It will enable the formulation of a new national vision for education, developing a platform which can support the broad spectrum of the country’s educational needs and lead the reform of technical and vocational training, ensuring that the country is delivering a labour force equipped to meet the demands of the labour market.

At current growth rates, the population of Yemen is set to double in just 25 years and with almost 50% of the population under the age of 15, the strain on the education and training systems across the country is considerable. The educational infrastructure required to improve the situation is in a state of disrepair due to the internal conflict, with more than 810 schools having been destroyed or damaged. While there have been improvements in the levels of literacy in Yemen, there is still much to be done.

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