RIYADH: The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Programme for Yemen (SDRPY) has delivered about 60 development projects and initiatives across 11 Yemeni governorates to support general, higher, technical and vocational education, as well as teacher training.
In general education, the programme has built and equipped more than 40 model schools with modern classrooms and chemistry and computer laboratories.
In higher education, it has equipped 28 laboratories at the University of Aden’s Faculty of Pharmacy in fields including chemistry, biotechnology, and pharmacology. It has also established an advanced forensic science laboratory at the university’s Faculty of Law, the first of its kind in Yemen.
At Saba Region University, the largest academic institution in Marib Governorate, the program has helped address classroom shortages and overcrowding. It built two buildings containing 16 classrooms and an administrative building and provided student transportation.
The Saudi programme is also establishing and equipping faculties of medicine, pharmacy, and nursing at Taiz University to help address the shortage of healthcare workers. In Socotra, it is building and equipping a technical institute and a faculty of education.
To build teachers’ capacity, the programme launched the International Professional Teaching Certificate (IPTC) program to qualify 200 teachers, along with the Digital Empowerment for Yemeni Teachers project and the Strengthening Educational Stability initiative, which supports teachers in keeping schools operational.
The Rural Education Access project qualified 150 young women for a teaching diploma in its first phase. In its second phase, it will qualify 450 female high school graduates in rural areas across six governorates.
In January 2026, the programme announced an additional package of projects. These include colleges of computer science and information technology at Hadhramout University and Seiyun University, the development of the Technical Institute for Veterinary and Agricultural Studies, and a College of Applied and Health Sciences at King Salman Medical and Educational City in Al-Mahra.
The package also includes 30 new schools across seven governorates, to be built at a rate of 10 per year. The program also operates school and university bus services to help students attend regularly.
SDRPY has implemented 300 development projects and initiatives across 16 Yemeni governorates in eight sectors. It operates through five executive offices in coordination with the Yemeni government and local authorities.
