Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The academic and administrative staff at the College of Education, Humanities, and Applied Sciences in the Socotra Archipelago Governorate (southeastern Yemen) announced on Monday the suspension of their comprehensive strike, responding to government promises to resolve the financial crisis facing the college.
This came in a statement issued by the college (affiliated with Hadramawt University), bearing number (3) and under the slogan “Prioritizing Wisdom and Giving a Chance,” a copy of which was seen by Yemen Monitor.
The statement mentioned that the decision to suspend came following a visit by the acting Governor of Socotra, Brigadier General Saleh Ali Saad, to the college’s headquarters, where he was briefed on “the extent of the suffering endured by the academic and administrative staff, and the depth of the financial crisis afflicting the operational budget.”
The teaching staff explained in their statement that suspending the strike aims to “give the local authority sufficient opportunity to act seriously with donor organizations, foremost among them the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, to find radical solutions to the college’s problems.”
The academics affirmed that returning to classrooms comes “out of concern for the students’ interests and the educational stability of the archipelago,” while stressing that the committee formed to follow up on the demands will remain in “continuous session” to monitor the seriousness of the authorities in fulfilling their promises to raise wages and support the budget.
The statement concluded by emphasizing that “the dignity of the teaching staff is the only guarantee for education to remain proud,” considering this step a final opportunity to prove that “education in Socotra remains at the top of the priority list.”
The education sector in Yemen suffers from severe difficulties due to the deterioration of the local currency and the shortage of operational budgets, which has led many educational institutions to carry out repeated protests and strikes to demand improved living and working conditions.
