Education: Yemen’s Greatest Hope for Combating Crime and Fostering Positive Values in Children

Ahmed Bajoaim – Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope)

In our modern world, education plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of generations to come. Schools and institutes stand out as bastions of knowledge and effective tools for fostering positive values and skills in children. The role of these educational institutions is not limited to providing academic education alone, but also building a conscious and responsible generation that contributes to reducing crime rates and creating a safer and more cohesive society. This also contributes to developing their skills to meet challenges, including violence and crime.
Technical and vocational schools and institutes are not limited to providing academic and professional curricula but also include the sound upbringing of children on the principles of ethics and noble human values, especially in light of the challenges facing Yemen from poverty, conflicts, and multiple negative impacts. This report will examine the role that schools and institutes provide to children in Yemen.

The Role of Educational Institutions

From several perspectives, technical and vocational schools play a crucial role in promoting positive skills among children. This includes developing technical and vocational skills by equipping students with new practical skills that contribute to building their self-confidence and developing a sense of accomplishment, helping them find suitable job opportunities in the future, thus reducing the risk of engaging in negative behaviors. Schools also provide students with an opportunity to interact with their peers and develop their social skills, allowing them to adapt better to society.
The tasks of vocational and technical schools also include providing a safe and supportive environment for students where they feel they are part of a team and that they are cared for, by directing their energy towards constructive and productive activities, rather than engaging in harmful behaviors.
Perhaps one of the positive impacts that these schools contribute to children, especially juveniles, is providing them with skills and opportunities that reduce their chances of engaging in criminal activities, helping them improve employment opportunities, raise the living standards of individuals and their families in the future, and build a strong and cohesive society.

The Director of Educational Guidance at the Ministry of Education Office in Coastal Hadramaut, Saeed Bamuhaisoon, said: “The office, within its strategic plans, was keen to set its own goals in instilling virtuous values among students in all schools, through instilling many values and skills in the morning assembly, which include lectures and various awareness activities, such as sports, entertainment and cultural competitions, whether within the school itself or between schools in coastal districts, to enhance positive and life skills in all educational levels.”
He added: “The office also implements radio programs specifically for students through Al-Mustaqbal Radio, which was established by the Ministry of Education, and broadcasts programs that help address many negative habits that may affect the ethics of students, spread awareness, and focus on instilling good values among students.

In this regard, educator Ali Siool Bafaraj pointed out that the phenomenon of violence among children in schoolyards is almost nonexistent, due to the teachers’ efforts in fostering a spirit of brotherhood among children, as well as continuous guidance and monitoring of children’s behaviors, and instilling the values of virtue and brotherhood among them. Therefore, the phenomenon of violence or deviant ethics among students is very weak, but it requires continuous guidance and monitoring of children in schoolyards to enhance noble values.
He continued: “Also, parents should be advised to pay attention to their children’s care regularly; to ensure that they stay away from some behaviors that may harm them or those they interact with. Therefore, guidance and monitoring are the two important elements in reducing the phenomenon of violence or any other aggressive behavior; as this age group is considered the backbone of the future, and their deviation or the spread of violence among them is a real danger to the country.”

The Challenges

Bamuhaisoon explained that the important challenges facing the Ministry of Education office in Coastal Hadhramaut in enhancing positive skills among school students, especially after the outbreak of the armed conflict, is the difference in students’ environments and areas of arrival; as Hadhramaut has become the most populated Yemeni governorate, whether from rural areas or other governorates or even from abroad. This poses a challenge in improving and refining life and good skills for children; as the environment has become diverse.
He continued, “Another challenge is the lack of communication between the educational guidance administrations or schools with students’ parents, in addition to the spread of negative phenomena in society, such as violence, the widespread availability of weapons, bullying, and other bad habits that are alien to Yemeni society, which affect the child’s upbringing and behavior. This requires a double effort on the part of the Ministry of Education offices and educational guidance administrations to modify these behaviors.
In this regard, educator Bafaraj stated that the most important challenges in this regard are the large number of schools and their branches, which is a major obstacle in developing diverse skills for students; because it is difficult to provide all the means that children need in all schools, especially in rural or remote areas, as well as the lack of provision of educational programs that enhance these positive skills for schoolchildren.
He added, “The lack of qualification and training for the educational staff is one of the most important challenges facing the educational process. This is due to the neglect of educational or administrative staff; as there are no training courses, missions, or scholarships in that area. This causes a severe weakness in the role of educational enlightenment for children in schools and institutes; because most educators do not have sufficient skills to communicate with students, deal with them, and modify their behaviors if they are not positive. Many educators in Yemen deal with children with a primitive or self-effort that lacks the educational standards followed in other countries.”

Solutions and Recommendations

Bamuhaisoon mentioned several treatments that contribute to developing self-reliance in students, including a change in the curriculum for the first few grades, from first grade to third grade, and holding courses that focus on how to teach primary school students the basic skills they need to learn.

He continued, “Among the recommendations, there are awareness programs that should be directed toward children in general, in the morning assembly, as well as on the Future Radio station for Hadhramaut Education and its educational voice. There should also be the formation of parent councils and special courses; to highlight the importance of communication between parents and school administrations, and create partnerships between school administrations and the surrounding community in a way that ensures effective and positive communication that primarily serves children.”

Bafaraj pointed out the importance of providing tools that develop children’s abilities, acquiring information in these areas, and training them so that children become capable of doing certain tasks themselves. There should be a focus on educators to help them acquire communication skills with children, understand their behaviors, and change them, through scholarships or by involving them in courses in this vital field, which contributes to building their abilities while addressing children in all educational, psychological, and social aspects.

He stressed the importance of providing the necessary support for this field, intensifying periodic visits to educational facilities, even visiting juvenile children to learn about their educational and training situation, working to identify the positives and address the negatives, and working to develop the field of communication with children in schools from time to time according to modern standards, in a way that suits the local environment.

In general, education for juvenile children in Yemen is a lifeline; it is more than just acquiring knowledge and skills; it is an investment in their future and the future of their country. In the difficult circumstances that Yemen is going through, the importance of education as a tool for progress and positive change becomes even more significant.

Perhaps one of the most prominent reasons that emphasize the importance of education for juvenile children is that it is considered to build a better future for themselves and their families, contributes to strengthening national identity and ethical values among them, increases their awareness of their rights and duties, is an effective way to combat extremism and violence, protects them from exploitation and early labor, and gives them a chance to grow and develop healthily.

Despite the positive reasons that education strengthens among juvenile children as a chance to rebuild their lives, education faces many challenges that include the continuation of the armed conflict, which has affected all aspects of life, including education, as well as the displacement of millions of children, the prevalence of poverty, and the lack of educational personnel, which requires everyone to make more efforts to provide educational programs that meet the needs of children in learning and growth.