Child Commits Suicide After Being Unable to Pay School Ceremony Fees in Sana’a

In the Al-Hatarshe neighborhood of the capital, Sana’a, on Sunday, 11-year-old Manaa Abduh Qaid Al-Duhyani took his own life by hanging in a shocking incident linked to his exclusion from a school awards ceremony due to his inability to pay the required fees.

According to media sources, Manaa— a fifth-grade student from Al-Salafiyah District in Raymah Governorate— was found hanging on the rooftop of the rented house where he lived with his mother and siblings.

The sources explained that the school Manaa attended had organized a ceremony to honor outstanding students. Despite his proven academic excellence, the school administration excluded him because his family could not afford the imposed fees, which included the cost of the ceremony, renting award clothing, and prizes.

The sources added that the child watched classmates with lower academic performance being honored on stage, while he remained isolated and withdrawn, as he is fatherless and belongs to a family unable to bear the financial burdens imposed by the school.

The incident sparked widespread anger and outrage among citizens and activists on social media, where it was described as a “full-fledged educational crime.” Activists criticized what they called the transformation of some educational institutions in Sana’a into revenue-collecting bodies, imposing fees and costs under the guise of “celebrations” and “activities” without considering the conditions of poor families and orphans— a practice that fosters feelings of injustice and inferiority among children and drives them toward tragic humanitarian outcomes.