Yemen seeks to ease war’s impact on students

Yemen's Ministry of Education is taking steps to improve the mental health of the country's children, many of whom have suffered the ill-effects of the war or witnessed acts of terrorism perpetrated by extremist groups.

In early September, the ministry, in collaboration with the Global Partnerships for Education, launched courses for social worker trainers across the country to improve the quality of school counselling and the mental health of students.

At the launch of a course in Sanaa, Deputy Minister of Education Abdullah al-Hamidi stressed the need to "strengthen the role of school counsellors in order to remedy the ill-effects of war and acts of violence on students".

He called on the participants from 13 provinces to follow school guidance and to take a scientific approach to understanding the problems students face.

"The violence, war and conflict will leave students with negative psychological and social issues which could affect their educational attainment or adversely affect school attendance," he said.

This is particularly the case for families who have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict, he added.

Yemen's war, along with deadly acts of terrorism carried out by groups such as al-Qaeda and the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), have left behind "negative side effects and behavioural changes that have not only touched young people but adults also", al-Hamidi said.

It is necessary to address the social and psychological problems today's students are facing in order to equip them with the knowledge and education they need to become good citizens in the future, he added.

Encouraging school attendance

The ministry seeks to support school attendance as the 2016-2017 academic year begins, al-Hamidi said, and aims to encourage parents and students to avoid absenteeism as current conditions have led to a drop in attendance.

It is important to consolidate efforts in this area, he said, "and urge everyone to take their national duties seriously".

The ministry's social worker training courses are currently focusing on providing training to 48 male and female participants from 13 provinces, Deputy Minister of Education for Girls Ishraq al-Hakimi told Al-Mashareq.

The courses seek to give participants "access to information-gathering tools so they can, in turn, pass on the necessary skills to students and engage other relevant people in the counselling process", she said.

The ministry will organise a similar course to train counsellors at the directorate, educational district and school levels, she added.

These counsellors will engage with students in person in order to tackle psychological and social problems they may have developed due to the conflict, she said.

Al-Hakimi urged course participants to engage with the contents of the course and implement them on the ground so as to guarantee a high level of school counselling at schools.

They should strive to improve the psychological health of students and lower the rate of behavioural and educational problems by building the capacity of experts and counsellors to deal with these issues, she said.

Welcoming displaced students

Sanaa schools have welcomed displaced students who fled to the district from other provinces due to the conflict and violence perpetrated by extremist groups, said Sanaa education office director general Mohammed al-Fadhli.

The education administration "will fulfill its duty towards students and motivate them to continue with their schooling by all means", he told Al-Mashareq.

Al-Fadhli stressed the importance of school counselling in order to overcome some of the psychological issues that have plagued students "such as fear, anxiety and refusing to go back to school".

The current situation in Yemen -- the war and the presence of extremist groups that seek to exploit the conflict to expand their footprint in the country -- has scarred society in general and young people in particular, he said.

"For this reason, schools are resorting to counselling for their students between the ages of 6 and 12," he said.

Counselling is critical as it addresses the psychological effects of war, conflict and violent acts that students have witnessed over the past period, he added.