Taiz, Yemen – In the quiet hours before dawn, 11-year-old Hasnaa Jaber walks through farmland on the outskirts of Taiz city, collecting discarded plastic bottles. While children at nearby schools prepare for their morning break, Hasnaa works to help her family survive.
Living in an informal settlement for displaced families, Hasnaa abandoned her education alongside her two older brothers to support her father’s struggling household. “My dream is to become a teacher,” she says, “but I studied only up to the third grade.”
The new academic year began on August 30 in government-controlled areas, yet Hasnaa and children from impoverished households remain in the margins. UNICEF estimates 3.2 million Yemeni children are out of school this year—a sharp increase from 1.8 million during the conflict’s first year in 2015.
Of her four siblings, only one currently attends school, as Hasnaa is too young to contribute through labor like washing cars or collecting scrap.
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“I don’t enjoy spending time with children who go to school because they look down on us,” Hasnaa explains. “Next year, I’ll return to my studies and fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher.”
Food is priority
Hasnaa earns roughly 1,500 Yemeni rials ($1) daily selling plastic bottles to scrap traders. Her father, Jaber Ali, a 35-year-old displaced farmer, relies on this income to feed his family. Fleeing conflict near Taiz eight years ago, he never attended school but hoped his children would.
“I used to work and keep my children in school,” Jaber says, “but the situation has worsened. What I earn from washing cars isn’t enough for basic food, let alone other necessities.” Rising living costs and scarce work force painful trade-offs: “Either send my children to school and watch them starve, or ask them to help me earn a living.”
Byproduct of war
The Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan reveals nearly 6.6 million children require education assistance in 2026, including those out of school or hindered by conflict, poverty, and collapsed services. Ammar al-Sharjabi, an education policy expert, warns that dropping out robs children of their rights and future opportunities.
“Persistent dropout rates breed illiteracy, poverty, and unemployment,” he explains, “adversely affecting societal development.” An anonymous Ministry of Education official in Aden attributes rising dropouts to economic desperation, not educational failures: “Parents must choose between food and schooling—this isn’t a classroom problem.”
While the ministry coordinates humanitarian aid, reversing dropout trends requires addressing income instability. “As soon as parents secure stable livelihoods, children return to school immediately,” the source says. “No parent wants their child deprived of education.”
Child breadwinners
A Save the Children survey of 2,000 households in southern Yemen found 92% uncertain about their next meal and 95% dependent on informal daily labor. Eighty-four percent couldn’t afford basic education costs like uniforms and books, linking 20% of dropouts directly to child labor.
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Thirteen-year-old Ahmed Abdulelah became a dropout after his father died of cancer two years ago. Working at a grocery store to support his four siblings, he says, “Since he passed, there’s no one else to help us—I can’t bear to see my mother suffer.”
Unlike peers mourning lost education, Ahmed views his sacrifice positively: “I work here so my siblings can finish their education. They’ll make up for what I lost.” Though resigned to forgoing school, he aims to become a shopkeeper to secure his family’s future.
