Yemen makes education as a key priority spending about 14 per cent of the state budget on improving the educational sector through expanding access to primary education and improving education quality, the World Bank has said.

In its 2009 report on the education in Yemen, the bank said that Yemen receives considerable donor aid to expand access to primary education and improve education quality. The International Development Agency, a subsidiary of the bank, is financing a lot of projects in the country, including key ones aimed at expanding girl access to primary education, the report said.

During 2001-2007, the agency provided $ 56 million to expand access to primary education in five Yemeni governorates; $ 65 million to improve primary education over 2004-2010 in a further ten governorates; and $ 20 million for the secondary education improvement project and girl enrollment for 2008-2015 in nine governorates, the report said.

The agency also played a vital role to mobilize donor support and improve coordination with them to improve the education quality in the country and helped Yemen to draw up a financially sustainable strategy to improve the current Yemeni educational system.

As a result, the number of girls who joined primary schools rose to 76 per cent in 2007-2008, up from 51 per cent during 1999-2001 and the number of children in general who were enrolled in schools increased from 68 per cent during 1999-2001 to 85 per cent in 2007-2008.

About 2557 classrooms were built during 2001-2006 and in as from 2008 the Ministry of Education cancelled the fees for girl enrollment in the first six grades of primary education and the fees for boy enrollment in the first three grades.

According to the report, 90 per cent of Yemeni educators attended annual training courses to improve their teaching skills and acquire new knowledge during 2001-2006. At the start of the school year 2007-2008, the ministry signed contracts with 1000 female educators to train them for three years to help them efficiently teach Yemeni girls.

Donors provide special missions to monthly assess progress made on the improvement of primary education in Yemen, the report said. In 2002, they contributed to the preparation of the primary education strategy and in 2004 they signed an agreement in this regard that was extended to 2007 to include two more partners, it conlcuded.