AME EDUCATION
SECTOR PROFILE
Yemen
Yemen
Education Structure
Education System Structure
and Enrollments 2005
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, World Bank EdStats
Yemen
Education Structure
• Compulsory school age in Yemen is 6-14 years old.
Education Configuration and Enrollment Percentages
Classification
Level/Grade
Ages
Pre-primary
Pre-school
Primary, grades 1-6
Lower Secondary,
Pre-university grades 7-9
Upper Secondary,
grades 10-12
TVET Secondary
2-3 Diploma
Tertiary
4 year degree
Advanced degree
% Net
Enrollments
% Gross
Enrollments
2005
3-5
N/A
2005
1%
6-11
75%
87%
12-14
51%
37%**
15-17
15-17
18-20
18-21
18+
40%
2%
N/A
9%*
* Includes all of post-secondary. UIS estimate. ** Includes all secondary. UIS estimate.
Source: World Bank EdStats, UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Yemen
Population Structure
Yemen has a young population: 75% are under the age of 30 and
the median age is 16.8%.
• The population is growing at a rate of 3.5% a year and is expected
to double by 2020, continuing to pressure the education system and
labor market.
•
Population Structure 2008 (est.)
0-14 yrs.
45%
65+ yrs.
2%
Source: International Labor Organization
15-29 yrs.
30%
30-64 yrs.
23%
Yemen
Education Policy
Relevant Policies:
1. Basic Education Development Strategy (2003)
2. National Strategy for the Development of Higher
Education in Yemen 2005
3. EFA Fast Track Initiative Catalytic Fund,
3rd Award, $20 million, 2008-09.
www.educationfasttrack.org
Policies available at:
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/format_liste1_en.php?Chp2=Yemen
Yemen
Education Access: Pre-university
• Primary enrollments grew 20% from 1990-2005.
• Secondary enrollments grew 2-6% from 1999-2005.
Pre-university Net Enrollments
80.0%
70.0%
1990
Enrollments (%)
60.0%
2005
50.0%
40.0%
* Lower and
upper
secondary
are gross
enrollments
from 1999.
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Pre-primary
Primary
L. Secondary U. Secondary
Source: World Bank EdStats, UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Secondary
Yemen
Education Access: Tertiary
• Tertiary enrollments grew 18% from 1999-2005.
• In 2006/07, females made up about 37% of tertiary enrollments.
Tertiary Enrollments
Gross Enrollments (000)
250
200
150
100
50
0
1999
2000
Advanced
2004
2-3 yr
4 yr
2005
Total
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Yemen Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Yemen
Education Access: Gender
• Girls’ primary enrollment has increased more than 30% since
1990 (~ 2% a year).
• At the secondary level, girls enroll at about half the rate of boys.
Pre-university Net Enrollments
90.0%
80.0%
Enrollment (%)
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
1990
Primary Boys
1999
2000
Primary Girls
2003
Secondary Boys
Source: World Development Indicators, World Bank EdStats
2004
2005
Secondary Girls
Yemen
Education Quality: Teachers
• Yemen had 194,443 teachers in 2008, 20% of whom were female.
• In 2002/03 school year, 42% of teachers had a secondary
education or less. The Ministry of Education notes however, that
even those with a higher education may still lack professional
qualifications due to the previous diverse paths of teacher
preparation.
• The government has been making concerted efforts to strictly
regulate the teacher training service and has since given 72,000
teachers in-service training.
Source: Yemen Ministry of Education 2008
Yemen
Education Quality: Completion
• The primary completion rate is increasing slowly mostly as a result
of girls’ increased completion. Boys’ completion rate has declined
slightly.
Primary Completion Rates
90.0%
80.0%
Completion (%)
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
1999
2001
Boys
Source: World Bank EdStats
2003
Girls
Total
2005
Yemen
Education Quality: Testing
• Almost 75% of grade 4 Yemeni students scored lower than the ‘low’
benchmark for the 2007 TIMSS.
• Yemen ranked 36/36 in both math and science of participating
countries.
TIMSS 2007 GRADE 4 Scores
90%
80%
Scores (%)
70%
79%
70%
60%
Science
50%
Math
40%
30%
20%
20%
15%
9%
10%
5%
1% 1%
0% 0%
High (550)
Advanced (625)
0%
Below low (<400)
Low (400)
Intermediate
(475)
Benchmarks
Source: Trends in International Math and Science Study 2007
Yemen
Education Equity: Gender/ Geographic Disparities
• Rural girls are severely disadvantaged at enrolling in secondary
education (16.9%).
• Urban enrollments at secondary level are almost double that of rural
enrollments (55.7% and 29.8%).
Enrollments (%)
Net Enrollments by Location and Gender 2006
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Rural
Urban
Boys
Girls
Total
Primary
Source: Yemen Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006
Boys
Girls
Secondary
Total
Yemen
Education Equity: Income Disparities
• The children from the richest quintile are 4 times more likely to
attend secondary education and 7 times more likely to attend
university than children from the poorest quintile.
Net Enrollments by Quintile 2006
100
90
80
Enrollment (%)
86.5
81
67.7
70
Primary
72.9
62.8
University
60
50
47.5
44.2
40
10
36.6
34.9
26.7
30
20
Secondary
15
26.2
21.9
* University
data are
gross
enrollments.
13.1
5.4
0
Poorest Q
Q2
Q3
Wealth Quintiles
Source: Yemen Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006
Q4
Richest Q
Yemen
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
• Compared to other countries in the region and internationally, Yemen
has high expenditures on education.
Public Spending on Education in MENA
Share of GDP
OECD
Share of Publc Spending
5
1
18
MENA
5.2
17.5
West Bank/Gaza
6.2
11.5
Morocco
28
2.3
Lebanon
12.5
6.8
Yemen
21.2
6.5
Jordan
13.5
6
Egypt
18
Source: World Bank EdStats, World Bank 2008, Yemen Ministry of Higher Education
Yemen
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
• From the National Report on education development in Yemen
(2008), the Yemen Ministry of Education reports the following
allocations of the national budget on education:
General Education
TVET
Higher Education
83.94%
5.19%
17.27%
• General education: grades 1-9.
• TVET: Technical education and vocational training.
• Higher education: all post-secondary education.
• Total exceeds 100%. Amounts from 2006.
Source: Yemen Ministry of Education
Yemen
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Primary repetition rates declined 5.7% within 5 years.
• Data for secondary repetition is limited.
Pre-university Repetition Rates
12.0%
11.0%
Primary
Repetition (%)
10.0%
Secondary
9.0%
8.0%
7.0%
6.0%
5.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
1999
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
2001
2003
2004
Yemen
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Yemen is not yet as efficient in decreasing repetition rates as other
regional countries with similar public education budgets; however has
seen some success within the last five years.
Public Spending on Education and Primary Repetition Rates 2003/04
12
% GDP
Percentage
10
Repetition
8
6
4
2
0
Egypt
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Yemen
MENA
Source: World Bank 2008, World Bank EdStats, Yemen Ministry of Higher Education
OECD
Yemen
Education: Conclusion
Successes:
• Access: Steady growth of primary and tertiary enrollment rates. Increasing
female primary enrollment rates.
• Quality: Increasing female primary completion rates.
• Equity: Gender gap decreasing at primary level.
• Efficiency: Declining primary repetition rates. Large education budget in
regional comparison.
Challenges:
• Access: Secondary enrollments growing slowly. Much lower female
secondary and tertiary enrollment rates.
• Quality: Poorly qualified teachers. Low female-male teacher ratios. Low
primary completion rates. Low academic scores (grade 4) on international
exams. Education data collection and reporting weak.
• Equity: Geographic and wealth disparities in enrollments. Extremely low
rural female enrollments.
• Efficiency: Regionally high primary repetition rates. Budget not wellallocated.