COVID-19 response
Allocation: US$11 million
Years: 2020-2021
Grant agent: Islamic Development Bank
Key documents:
The US$11 million COVID-19 grant supports:
- Home-based learning through the development and broadcasting of TV and radio lessons
- Sanitizing and providing hygiene supplies to 7,000 schools
- Awareness campaigns to promote learning resources and to broadcast messages regarding the protection of students’ and teachers’ health, safety and wellbeing
- training of teachers, mentors and school administrators to bridge learning gaps
- Capacity building of the ministry of Education through a south-south exchange with Tunisian education administrators as well as technical assistance from Arab League's Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).
The GPE program builds on the earlier interventions supported by ECW.
In late March 2020, the UNICEF office in Yemen received a GPE grant of US$140,000 to support the Ministry of Education with preparing a national COVID-19 education response plan and 2 operational plans.
Education in Yemen
Yemen considers education vital to eliminating poverty and is focused on ensuring that all children have access to quality education. The country’s development plans consistently prioritize human development and the education of the labor force.
While access to basic education has improved, Yemen still faces significant challenges, including girls’ enrollment, retention and completion rates, teacher quality and instructional materials, and emergency or conflict-afflicted areas.
The Medium-Term Results Framework 2013-2015 covered the period 2013-2015 and outlined 10 programs under 5 objectives. The country is in the process of developing a transitional sector plan through support from GPE and other development partners.
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The current GPE grant of US$72.6 million focuses on the following:
- Developing quality basic education through supporting school-based development, curriculum development, pre-school education, and improving teacher, school management, and inspector performance.
- Improving enrollment and equity through improving school physical environment, encouraging equitable access, promoting access for out-of-school children, and supporting adult literacy.
- Strengthening institutional capacities through deploying and managing the Education Management and Information System (EMIS), training on quality management and school accreditation teams, and developing a new education strategy for 2016-2025.
Grant restructuring
Since January 2015, Yemen has been facing a high level of violence and insecurity due to armed conflict. In view of this, the GPE grant was restructured to support most urgent needs of the education sector.
The latest restructuring includes a 1-year extension (2018-19) and the adjustment of annual targets for new classrooms and new labs, resulting in the reallocation of US$12.2 million.
Additional funding has been provided to support training and salaries of an additional 699 female teachers. The number of program beneficiaries has been increased to reach at least 427,444 children.
A new US$2.5 million component has been added to support the most immediate needs. This funding, combined with US$9.7 million in emergency funding during the first restructuring, brings the total allocated for education in emergencies in Yemen to US$12.2 million. Finally, the restructuring will support the development of a transitional education plan.
The local education group in Yemen, led by UNESCO and Save the Children as coordinating agencies, is playing an important role during the crisis in providing inputs on how best to restructure and use the GPE grant, and in helping partners who suspended operations in the country to remain involved in the dialogue. As a result, more partners have stayed engaged in responding to Yemen’s education crisis and are better placed to continue their work.
Grants
All amounts are in US dollars.
| Grant type | Years | Allocations | Utilization | Grant agent | |
| COVID-19 | 2021-2022 | 11,000,000 | 0 | IsDB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerated funding | 2021-2022 | 6,480,000 | 0 | WB | |
| 2013-2014 | 9,996,319 | 0 | UNICEF | Completion report | |
| Program implementation and multiplier | 2021-2025 | 47,400,000 | 0 | WB | |
| Program implementation | 2014-2021 | 72,600,000 | 55,500,276 | UNICEF | Progress report |
| 2009-2013 | 19,989,071 | 19,989,071 | WB | Completion report | |
| 2006-2007 | 10,000,000 | 10,000,000 | WB | ||
| 2004-2005 | 9,777,701 | 9,777,701 | WB | ||
| Program development | 2021-2022 | 200,000 | 0 | WB | |
| Total | 187,443,091 | 95,267,048 |
As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting the Yemeni Coalition for Education for All for the 2019-2021 period.
This builds on 11 years of Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF) support to national education coalitions for their engagement in education sector policy dialogue.
GPE had provided the Yemeni Coalition for Education for All with a grant from the CSEF to support its engagement in education sector policy dialogue and citizens’ voice in education quality, equity, and financing and sector reform.
Education sector progress
The graphs below show overall progress in the education sector in Yemen, and GPE data shows the country progress on 16 indicators monitored in the GPE Results Framework.
Source: World Bank - Education Data
Data on education are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country.