School Pays for Girls in Yemen

Getting paid to go to school is the dream of billions of children all over the world. Who wouldn’t want to get a little ‘chang chang’ for getting up at the crack of dawn and studying late into the night?

However, for many kids, going to school is a beloved dream that rarely becomes a reality. It’s unfortunate that for many school-aged children around the world, especially girls, socio-economics and cultural taboos stand in the way of them ever seeing the inside of a classroom.

One country is taking proactive measures to ensure that its girls have a chance to get an education. The Yemeni government has developed a two-year school grant program to benefit girls living in rural areas. As a branch of the Basic Education Development Project, Yemeni parents can earn $35 per annum simply by sending their daughters to school. However, the condition is that attendance must be at least 80% over the course of a full school year. The scheme has already seen a 9% increase in class enrollment. According to the Middle East Online, it is supported by the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development and the Netherlands government.

Without the financial incentive, it is doubtful that most deserving Yemeni girls would receive an education. In Yemen, traditions weigh more heavily than education. Girls that carry great responsibility in the home and are required to perform basic household duties at a very young age. Some are even married off before puberty so that families can profit from dowry fees. As a result, there is a definitive difference in literacy rates between Yemeni girls and boys. In 2007, the UN Development Program reported that 73% of Yemeni boys are literate while only 35% of Yemeni girls are literate.

The Yemeni government has high hopes for the class-for-cash program and is hoping to have at least 90% of its girls in school this year and almost full school compliance by 2015.

Source: Middle East Online