Displaced Yemeni Children Face Lost Education as Fighting Intensifies in Taiz

In a displacement camp nestled in the Wadi Bani Khawlan area of Taiz governorate's Jabal Habashi district, twelve-year-old Ahmed begins each day beneath the roof of a tent, far from the life he once knew. His routine for the past two weeks has consisted of little more than playing with other displaced children or retreating to lie down inside the cramped shelter. Before renewed fighting forced his family to flee their village of al-Ashroh, west of Taiz city, Ahmed's mornings were defined by the familiar walk to school, his school bag slung over his shoulder. Now, he told Al Jazeera, life in the camp feels "boring," and he misses everything about his home, his village, and above all, his classroom. "I left my school bag in the house as we fled the clashes, and I do not know if I will carry it again and go back to my classroom and meet my teachers and classmates," he said.

Ahmed's story reflects a deepening crisis affecting tens of thousands of children across conflict-affected Yemen. No school operates within the displacement camp where he now lives, and even if his family were able to return to al-Ashroh, the school there has also closed its doors. According to UNICEF, hundreds of schools across contested regions of the country have suspended classes, disrupting education for more than 137,000 students. The United Nations agency further reported that over 57,000 children were displaced during the first two weeks of September alone as a result of the intensified fighting, a figure that is expected to have grown as hostilities have continued.

The renewed violence marks a sharp departure from four years of relative calm. Armed clashes between pro-government forces and the Houthis escalated dramatically in August and September, delivering a fresh blow to Yemen's already fragile education system and compounding what experts describe as a catastrophic learning crisis. The fighting has not only destroyed infrastructure but has also uprooted entire communities, forcing families to prioritize survival over schooling in ways that may have lasting consequences for an entire generation.

When Ahmed's family arrived at the displacement camp, their immediate concerns centered on securing shelter, food, and water. "Before the war reached my house and school, my family would care if I completed my school homework," Ahmed recalled. "Today, no one cares about education in the camp. Families' focus shifted to tents, food and water." This shift in priorities, while understandable given the circumstances, underscores the impossible choices facing displaced families who must weigh basic survival against their children's futures.

Humanitarian organizations attempting to assist the displaced are struggling to meet even the most fundamental needs. The United Nations reported on October 2 that more than 150,000 people had been displaced by the renewed conflict, a number expected to rise further. This new wave of displacement adds to the more than five million Yemenis who had already been uprooted since the war began with the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in 2014. The cumulative toll on the country's social fabric, particularly its educational infrastructure, has been devastating.

Mohammed Radman, a displacement coordinator with the Executive Unit for IDP Camp Management in Jabal Habashi district, described the situation facing displaced students as dire. He explained that thousands of students have been forced to abandon their education amid what he called "horrific circumstances." According to Radman, students have no viable options: all schools near the front lines have closed, and functioning schools in safer areas are already overcrowded and unable to accommodate displaced students even if they were willing to travel several kilometers each day to reach them.

Radman categorized schools in conflict-affected areas into three groups: those being used to shelter displaced families, those that are overcrowded, and those located on or near the front lines. This classification illustrates the multifaceted pressure on Yemen's education system, which must simultaneously serve as emergency shelter, accommodate surging student populations, and contend with the physical dangers of ongoing combat. "This creates a real challenge for society, the Yemeni government and international organisations," Radman said.

The crisis extends beyond the current displacement wave. Even before the latest escalation, UNICEF reported that 3.2 million children were already out of school in Yemen. Tawfiq al-Humaidi, president of the SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, warned that the new displacement crisis will only worsen the ordeal facing Yemeni children. "This war leaves them vulnerable to homelessness, begging, and potentially forced recruitment," he said. "So, alternatives available to children outside the classroom are not safe." His warning highlights the dangerous trajectories that await children removed from the protective environment of schools.

Al-Humaidi further noted that while families hope their stay in displacement camps will be temporary, the disruption to education may persist long after the fighting ends. Prolonged stays in camps can entrench new daily routines that make returning to school increasingly difficult. "The repercussions extend beyond deprivation and the loss of educational lessons to the loss of the social and psychological protection provided by schools," he explained. "When schools close, children become more vulnerable to violence, exploitation, recruitment and child labour."

Teachers on the ground describe overwhelming obstacles to providing education in active conflict zones. Abdulkarim, a teacher in Taiz who requested his full name be withheld, told Al Jazeera that education cannot take place when students hear explosions, fear bullets, and live in unstable tents. "I saw how little children cry when they hear the sounds of heavy gunfire," he said. Abdulkarim emphasized that establishing a safe environment must be the first priority, after which students could be accommodated in functioning schools or alternative learning centers.

Afrah al-Humaiqani, a sociologist based in Aden, cautioned that the recent hostilities risk denying thousands of students access to education and could contribute to creating what she termed a "new illiterate generation" in Yemen. Her warning carries profound implications for the country's long-term recovery and development, as an uneducated generation would face diminished economic opportunities and increased vulnerability to extremism and exploitation.

Despite the grim outlook, al-Humaiqani suggested that reducing the impact of the crisis remains possible if the Yemeni government and international organizations cooperate and coordinate effectively. Such collaboration would require not only emergency educational interventions but also sustained investment in rebuilding the country's shattered school system once conditions permit. For now, however, children like Ahmed can only dream of the day they might carry their school bags again and return to the classrooms they left behind.