Ma’rib - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) celebrate today (27/09) the opening of Al Jeel School in Ma’rib city, located just across the road from Yemen’s largest displacement site, Al Jufainah. The school took one year to construct and is now equipped to educate thousands of conflict-affected children – including residents of Al Jufainah and inhabitants of the west part of Ma’rib city – at the primary and secondary level.

According to the UN Children’s Fund, more than 2 million Yemeni children are out of school and millions more, especially young girls, are at risk of dropping out of school. Only two-thirds of Yemen’s schools are fully functional.

Most displaced children have extremely limited access to education, particularly in areas severely affected by the conflict like Ma’rib.

“The opening of this school creates new opportunities for thousands of children to get back to classes after conflict disrupted their education for too long,” said IOM’s Chief of Mission, Christa Rottensteiner.

“We welcome this collaboration with KSrelief and local authorities which will have a positive impact on the future of so many young people.”

Registration for classes is now open at the school which has the capacity to host more than 2,500 students in two shifts per day. Classes will commence soon.

“Education is a fundamental human right for all children. It plays a pivotal role to change the future of communities and contribute to have sustainable ones. Therefore, KSrelief is keen to support the continuation of education for all children in vulnerable communities and provide innovative ways to accomplish that,” explained KSrelief’s Head of the Community Support Department, Dr. Hana Omar.

“It is vital to identify, address, and prepare communities for future challenges through a comprehensive approach to ensure equitable and quality education for all and help to build resilient education systems. We should always remind ourselves that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders, and no one should be left behind.”

Many of the new students have had to put their education on hold due to the conflict. The construction of this school will help address this major gap in Ma’rib which does not currently have not enough schools to accommodate all students in the area.

“Education is very important if we want peace and a brighter future. Our displacement should not make this impossible,” said Aisha, a 43-year-old resident of Al Jufainah who has struggled to find a spot for her nephew in nearby schools over the last year.

The KSrelief-funded school is 14,000 square metres and comprises 18 classrooms including two chemistry and physics labs, one computer lab and several offices for teachers and administrators. It is also equipped with a cafeteria, a fully-functioning water and sewage system, as well as a playground and volleyball pitch.

It was designed using Yemeni traditional stone and decoration – also known as Qamaria - and adheres to modern, international standards of construction. The school was constructed after extensive consultations with local stakeholders from Mar’ib governorate including the education offices and community members.

This is just one of 15 schools that IOM and KSrelief are partnering to construct or rehabilitate in four governorates around Yemen.

For more information, please contact

• At IOM: Elham Al-Oqabi, Email: ealoqabi@iom.int, Tel: +967 739888390 (in Ma’rib) or Mennatallah Homaid, Email: mhomaid@iom.int, Tel: +967 739888755 (in Sana’a)

• IOM Yemen’s Communications Team at  iomyemenmediacomm@iom.int

• At KSrelief International Communication and Media Center:  Media@ksrelief.org