Qatar Charity has followed with deep regret what has been stated regarding the printing of school books in Yemen.

There have been several key inaccuracies and accusations regarding the printing of school books in Yemen which Qatar Charity strongly condemns and calls on them to be clarified.

Item One

The support provided by Qatar Charity to education in Yemen is part of the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan that is in coordination with education sector groups supervised by the United Nations and international organizations working in the field of education in Yemen, and who have identified the important and essential educational needs according to which different humanitarian organizations and donor countries provide support and funding.

Item Two

The proposed educational book remain in the submission process and as such the proposed books are still in the submission process and have not yet been printed.

Qatar Charity's policy requires the advertising of submissions to ensure transparency and equal opportunities for suppliers and service providers. Thus we are astonished by the accusations surrounding the Qatar Charity books given that they have not yet been printed or indeed their content viewed.

Item Three

Support and funding are restricted to the printing of scientific books only, namely mathematics and science for the first, second and third grades. These are the same books that have been taught in Yemen for 30 years and have not been modified except in 2005, when the cover, certain illustrations and scientific issues were changed. The content remains unchanged.

 

Item Four

The same scientific books are being taught in all Yemeni governorates such as Aden, Marib and Hadramout. Moreover, a number of international organizations have printed theses book in previous years and most recently as last year and which were distributed to the various governorates in Yemen.

Item Five

Qatar Charity's continued support to education in Yemen aims to ensure that any lack of financial resources does not jeopardise children’s rights to an inclusive and high-quality level of education.

In light of the lack of international funding and with 2 million children outside the education system and further 4.5 million at risk of losing their access to education, Qatar Charity will continue to regenerate schools, support teachers, distribute school supplies and provide textbooks to various schools in Yemen, as failure to intervene and provide education, will result in a regressive society that hinders future generation who are highly at risk of destitution which leads to increased humanitarian suffering and hindering the development and recovery in Yemen.

Item Six

Qatar Charity affirms that these fabricated accusations will not discourage it from continuing to support the Yemeni people in their current crisis, especially in the field of education, which is a basic human right enshrined in international conventions, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Discrimination in Education and the Education for All initiative.