Spotty education system–where are the computers?
U.S. News senior writer Kevin Whitelaw recently visited Yemen, an impoverished Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula that became a surprising U.S. ally in the wake of September 11. The Yemeni government has made some impressive strides when it comes to fighting terrorism, despite a few serious lapses like an embarassing prison break last month when 23 al Qaeda prisoners escaped through a tunnel. But now, Yemen is facing questions about its own crisis, as mounting poverty, declining oil resources, and suffocating corruption combine to threaten the nation's democratic progress–and perhaps its very existence. Whitelaw spent time with Yemenis from all walks of life – those in government, security, business, and education, along with a few of Yemen's legion of unemployed.
SANA, YEMEN–In a country where nearly half the citizens are thought to be illiterate, education remains one of the biggest challenges. The government has built many schools and even a university system in recent years, but the quality is spotty. Shakir Najji is a senior, majoring in computer programming, at the University of Sana. But in his time at school, there was never a single computer in the classroom, not even for a professor to use for a demonstration.
"It's a one-way communication–lecturing all the time," he says. Najji was able to teach himself many skills because his family owned a computer. The university does maintain a somewhat outdated computer lab, but students are allotted only one hour of computer time per week.
"For other students, they have no practical experience," he says. "I can't find a job outside of Yemen with the kind of qualifications I will have from the University of Sana." For one thing, they study mostly outdated computer languages.
It has been difficult to try to spread computer knowledge. Afar Ahmed al-Haimi, a sociology professor at the University of Sana, says her department got a computer only last year—and training courses weren't held for months.
"Don't be surprised that many students don't know how to use computers," she says. "Most of the teachers don't either."
Sometimes, there is such demand for precious computers that they do not even reach the intended places. One U.S. aid project has been aimed at putting computers in high schools.
"When you put a lab in one place, everyone wants to home in on it," says a U.S. diplomat. "We put a computer in one school, but the headmaster said the local [government] came and took it away."