The Houthis have incorporated leader Abdulmalik Badreddin Al-Houthi’s teachings into the high school curriculum in the northern governorate of Sa'ada, parents and local sources there told Almasdar Online.   

The Houthi-run Ministry of Education, headed by Abdulmalik’s brother Yahya Al-Houthi, implemented the revised syllabus for the three grades of high school. 

The changes will include a daily video broadcast of the leader’s lecture inside classrooms for the first half of the school day.

Houthi supervisors in the schools have asked students to take notes during the lectures for discussion afterwards, the sources said.

One parent called the move “an attempt to (turn the children into) followers, and to throw them into their battles in accordance with the guidance of the Houthi leader and satisfy his desires to take over Yemenis and rule them.”

Another parent told Almasdar Online he removed his children from their high school after hearing they were being taught about becoming a martyr. 

“My children came to me and asked, ‘is it true that the one who is killed on the frontline is still alive and does not die?’”

“I asked them who said that. They responded, ‘Abdulmalik Al-Houthi in today’s class. He said we must all strive to be martyrs.’”

"I decided to remove them from school until I find a solution," the parent said.

Early last week, during a visit to secondary schools to launch the revised curriculum, the Houthi-appointed governor in Sa’ada, Mohammed Jaber Al-Razhi, said the actions are crucial to protecting Yemen’s youth from Saudi, US and Israeli invasion.

Students in Sa'ada said the governor told them they were reservists and that they had to prepare themselves.

While the Houthis have been imposing sectarian syllabi in classrooms for years, particularly in primary schools, the recent actions in Sa’ada have cemented fears for some that the Houthis intend to prepare students for the frontlines.