After the Houthi coup against power, the economic and living conditions of Yemenis worsened, which made them suffer real suffering as a result of the steady rises in prices that affected everything, including education, which is witnessing a serious decline resulting in the spread of illiteracy among many segments of society, low educational outcomes, poverty and lack of living income for the teacher, who is his backbone, all as a result of the interruption of salaries for more than 6 years, and this warns of the interruption of the educational process, especially in light of the growing and an increasing number of those who drop out of education.

The teacher (N. F) tells us about his suffering in light of the continued interruption of salaries, saying: “The suffering of teachers living in Sana’a and the rest of the Houthi-controlled Governorates is continued. The suffering has reached its maximum extent, and we can no longer bear it after six years of our last salary.”

He added: "I know some of the teachers who were satisfied with the crumbs thrown by the Houthi thieves, which is receiving half the salary every 6 months, and for me, I tried to find another job so that I could meet the most basic requirements of life for me and my family, so I sometimes have to miss school despite the school administration threaten of expelling me from school."

He continued by asking: “I implore you by God, how can we continue teaching while we cannot provide a living for our families? For the past six years, I have worked as a construction worker, taxi driver, a worker in a mineral water installation and many other jobs, yet I can hardly provide food for my family because of the high prices.”

He added: "I know some teachers where the sidewalks and public gardens were their safe haven and their first station they resort to, in which they stretch their exhausted bodies and sleep deeply, and the restaurants of the capital, Sana'a, were their second station in which they go at lunch and dinner times, where people gave them the rest of their leftovers to satisfy their hunger and that of their children."

He concluded his speech by saying: How can we expect a teacher to produce educational ideas and do his job at a time when he and his family are without breakfast? We simply want a salary in order to live."

Houthis are targeting education:

With the beginning of each new academic year, the suffering of Yemeni families is renewed due to the high prices of school supplies to become a terrifying nightmare, where stationery tools, school uniforms, bags and others witnessed during this year a wave of price increases by more than 120%, constituting an unfair burden on the shoulders of parents, its effects negativity reflects on the student and sometimes leads to his deprivation of education.

Abu Yazan, one of the owners of stationery stores in the Capital Municipality, spoke about the reasons that led to the high prices for students’ school needs, saying: "This year, the buying and selling process among citizens has deteriorated by about 70%, compared to what it was in the past, so much so that the buying and selling negotiations with some citizens last for more than an hour."

He added: “There is suffering that I personally see in the expressions on the faces of parents who cannot buy their children’s requirements. And I am in pain as a result of that and I was unable to do anything but sell for the lowest profits in many cases, taking into account their living conditions, and more than that, the children’s joy in obtaining their requirements.”

He continued: "We have no role in this great rise. The tone of wholesalers changes with the beginning of the school year and their greed increases with the increase in demand, as the increase in one carton of notebooks exceeds 4,000 riyals from one week to another."

According to him, they attributed this to what they called the increase in taxes and customs imposed on their goods, in addition to the cost of transporting goods, which in the past did not exceed 250 thousand riyals per vehicle, which has reached at the present time more than two million and 400 thousand riyals, which led to an increase in the prices of school bags and stationery items represented by notebooks this year increased by 120% compared to last year.

He concluded his speech by saying: “The concerned and responsible authorities do not use their supervisory authority over major traders, as the majority of them are Houthis who target education, in addition to their greed to achieve imaginary profits without any religious or moral scruples towards what families suffer from oppression in front of their children, which often amounts to denying them access to education, as I mentioned.

Changing the fabric of Yemeni society:

In light of the series of systematic destruction practiced by the Houthis against the education sector, an American magazine revealed in a recent report that the Houthis are intensifying their ideological, sectarian and racist campaign in order to revive the Imamate that Yemenis have turned its back on, even if this is at the expense of impoverishing the people who have suffered from their scourge.

The American "Inside Arabia" Magazine for Analytical Studies said, "The Houthis have intensified their harsh campaign against educational and societal freedoms in Yemen, even they changed the school curricula to glorify Imam Al-Hadi Yahya, who is the head of the Imamate in the country."

The magazine made it clear that the militias "have sought for years to change the fabric of Yemeni society by converting it to the extremist sectarian doctrine that they espouse."

"The Houthis categorically believe that no one may rule but them," it said.

The Magazine quoted residents in the Houthi-controlled areas as saying that "the militias have established new schools and institutions in Saada and the rest of the governorates they control to spread their ideology among students and society in general throughout their expansion period while strengthening Iranian ideological thought."

It made it clear that "the Houthis are now using television and radio channels and all forms of media, while they control schools, mosques and social events and replace their supporters by principals of schools, colleges and universities' presidents, to impose their racist ideology in the areas under their control."

This is what prompted me to enroll my children in private schools:

Although the experience of private education in Yemen is relatively recent, it has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, where in the Capital Municipality alone, there are more than 600 schools, most of which have been transformed into investment projects for the purpose of making money, as the parents told us. Where they were surprised with the beginning of the new school year, private schools raise tuition fees, in addition to other amounts such as transportation fees (buses), activities, parties and trips, taking advantage of their desire to teach their children in private education institutions, without taking into account the poor living conditions that burden them.

Abu Ahmed tells us about the reasons that led him to endure hardship and enroll his children in private schools, despite the deteriorating financial condition he suffers from, saying: "The steady annual rises in tuition fees in private schools represent a great burden that weighs on us in light of the current living conditions, and despite my conviction that most private schools are nothing but investment projects whose main goal is financial profit, and they do not care about the educational issue, but there are several reasons that made me register my children in private schools, the most important of which is the fear that my children will be brainwashed by the Houthis, as happens in government schools.

Last year, the Houthis took my nephew to the battlefront after he was brainwashed in sectarian courses organized by the school under the cover of cultural activities. As for private schools, I am assured that this will only happen with my consent.”

He added: “Although there are many burdens that I will incur as a result of enrolling my children in private schools, the future of my children and their educational attainment is above all else. The crowd of public schools also and the lack of teachers undoubtedly negatively affect the student, who needs a calm atmosphere for educational attainment. As a father, I hope that my son will be a successful person and be the best among his peers.

The Houthis are behind our raising the registration fee:

Although the law regulating private education gives the Ministry of Education in the coup government the right to approve the amount of school fees, it appears as if it is not interested in curbing the huge rise in registration fees, which unleashed the private schools to impose whatever fees they want without taking into account any standards or living circumstances or otherwise.

We met the teacher (A. R), who is a director of a private school, and we asked him why they had to raise tuition fees for this year, and he replied saying: "The private education has not escaped Houthi control, which has become a partner in most schools, where at the beginning of the school year, it implemented a package of arbitrary restrictions against all private schools, and the schools of each district were distributed to a group of its followers, for the monthly levies that are shared among them."

He added: “The Houthis have inserted their followers into the boards of directors and appointed a Houthi supervisor in each school, who withdraws the amount he sets at any time throughout the year, and if the administration refuses to give him the money he threatens that he will close the school and discredit it.

In addition to enrolling his children and all his relatives and acquaintances free of charge, and their number reaches more than thirty students, as every school was obligated to register the children of the dead Houthis, knowing that many of them are not the children of the dead, and their number is very large this year.

He continued: "The textbook was also not spared from Houthi collection, where we purchased the textbooks approved from last year in millions of riyals, and then we were surprised that the books were replaced with other books by the Houthis, and they obliged us to buy them in the millions as well."

According to his expression, the militias stipulated the construction of a wall with a large area of land separating the boys’ and girls’ schools, although the two schools are completely separated, and this forced us to move the boys’ branch to another place, “and you can imagine the amount of losses that the administration incurred as a result of these arbitrary decisions, which caused registration fees have been raised.

And he said: "They obliged us to hand over to them statements with the names of the students, their home addresses and phone numbers in order to register them for the summer, and whoever falls behind will be deprived of studying next year or they will have to take him by force, as the supervisor told us."

He continued his speech by saying: "In addition, as part of their school programs and activities, they obligated us to agree to conduct weekly awareness sessions for students about jihad, and to celebrate all the occasions approved by them, including what they call Yaum Al-Shahid (Martyr's Day), in which the school will pay money the children of the dead in that event."