[09/December/2008]

SANA'A, Dec. 09 (Saba) – An official report has revealed that about 20 percent of the religious schools in Yemen remain operating without government observation.

The report issued by the ministry of Endowments and Guidance noted that almost 4000 religious school operate in Yemen, of which 80 percent are directly monitored by the government through the ministries of Endowments and Guidance as well as Education.

The report says the two ministries are currently following up unobserved religious schools in an effort to close all schools operating in contravention to the Yemeni law.

Earlier, minister of Education Abdul Salam al-Jawfi issued a decision to close all schools registered at the ministry and teaching  curricula that advocate the extremist ideology, the move which came to boost previous measures taken after the emerging of the Houthi rebellion in the northern province of Saada in 2004 when the cabinet issued a decision calling for the closure of all religious schools operating without harmony with the national educational laws.

The decision banned  learning religious curricula not approved by the Education ministry and urged a review of curricula of the religious schools.

Despite early measures to bring all religious schools under the government observation, many of these schools still teach without direct observation.
FR
Saba