SANAA, Yemen — Prior to July 2013, al-Fateh school provided primary education in the rural area of Manasseh ​​in al-Bayda governorate to the east of the capital Sanaa. But since then, the school has turned into a mere landmark of the already stumbling educational sector in Yemen.

In early July 2013, al-Qaeda gunmen occupied the school and turned it into a security center for the management of the inhabitants’ affairs. By then, al-Qaeda had been in control of large parts of al-Bayda governorate.

On May 2, 2015, the school was taken over by another armed group after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa on Sept. 21, 2014, and sent their gunmen to al-Bayda to fight al-Qaeda members and anti-Houthi tribesmen. Houthi militants seized control of the school and turned it into a security station and military headquarters. Until now, the Houthis have maintained control of the school.

A schoolteacher, speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said, "I was shocked when a 7-year-old student approached me as I was standing in front of the school one day this year, grabbed my hand, and asked: 'Can you kick the militants out, I want to go back to school.' In that moment I felt helpless and sad more than ever.”