The creation of Israel as a nation-state resulted in an unprecedented movement in all directions of populations.  One of these would be the exile of nearly all indigenous peoples that are until today facing the most complex and harsh challenges.  The Palestine refugee communities have been looked after and kept alive by a wide array of world organisations all spearheaded by the United Nations. Impartiality and justice or lack of them in Palestine for one or the other party, all depending on one’s standpoint, were never the guiding criteria for bringing any calming solution. The recent decision of the US to cut $300 million in funding to UNRWA this year was qualified as being an existential threat to UNRWA. One way or another, vested interests were and seem to continue to obviously be the only influencing factors. 

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.4 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance. Dehumanizing an entire community will bring no peace . . . .

The latest UNICEF’s article on one of the fallout of the above mentioned UNRWA engagement in the Palestinian territories would be very illustrative of a situation that is hampering that part of the MENA region from reaching some serenity to enable it to focus on development.

 

Nearly 25 per cent of boys aged 15 out of school in the State of Palestine

Adolescent boys out of school due to the low quality of education, lack of relevance to their young lives, physical and emotional violence in schools, and conflict

26 July 2018

UNICEF State of Palestine/2017/Weibel

 

RAMALLAH, 26 July 2018 – Almost all Palestinian children, between the ages of six and nine, are in school, but by age 15, nearly 25 per cent of boys and 7 per cent of girls have dropped out, according to the ‘State of Palestine: Country Report on Out-of-School Children’.

The report, from UNICEF in the State of Palestine and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), highlights the multiple and often inter-related factors behind why children are out of school. 

Adolescent boys, aged 14 and 15, make up nearly half of all children, up to the compulsory school age of 15, who are out of school. The report notes that more boys in this age group are missing out on education in the West Bank (18.3 per cent), compared to the Gaza Strip (14.7 per cent)*.

The main reasons for drop out include low quality education, that is also often seen as not relevant to their lives, physical and emotional violence in schools, including from teachers and peers, and armed conflict.

“Reaching children who are most at risk of dropping out of school, such as adolescent boys, and tackling the issues they face before it’s too late, is critical to keep them in class,” said Genevieve Boutin, UNICEF’s Special Representative in the State of Palestine. “Creating jobs for young graduates is also a priority, notably in the Gaza Strip where more than 60 per cent of young people are unemployed.”

The report highlights how better tailored education and support services, to meet the needs of individual students, particularly for those who fall behind, can help reduce drop out. This includes, flexible curriculum, different types of remedial learning opportunities and counselling services in schools.

“Access to quality education in a safe school environment will ultimately help all children to stay in school and develop the knowledge and skills needed to progress in life,” said Boutin.

Getting to school can also be a distinct challenge for adolescent boys in the State of Palestine. In the West Bank, children are often forced to pass through several checkpoints, roadblocks and to go around Israeli settlements just to reach class. This can be especially difficult for adolescent boys, as they are more likely to be stopped and questioned on the way to school.

In the Gaza Strip, classes are overcrowded with an average of 37 children per class. Among those enrolled in Grades 1 to 10, some 90 per cent go to double-shift schools. This reduces learning hours and the ability for teachers to properly support children, especially those who have learning and behavioural difficulties.

“Children who fall behind in class are more likely to drop out and therefore are more at risk of abuse and exploitation out of school,” said Boutin. “Being in school not only helps Palestinian children to learn and develop but also provides stability and life-skills that are particularly important in such a high-stress environment,” Boutin added. 

The report also notes that violence affects education in many ways. More than two-thirds of children in Grades 1 to 10 report being exposed to emotional and physical violence in their schools, and – due to the conflict – more than 29,000 children in 2017 had their schooling interrupted in 170 attacks and threats of attacks on schools, students or teachers that further affects school attendance.

To fulfil the right to education for every child in the State of Palestine, UNICEF is calling for: 

• ·         Improving quality of education at low performing schools.
• ·         Increasing access to tailored education services, in and out of school, including year-round remedial education programmes.
• ·         Improving training and technical support to teachers for inclusive education.
• ·         Targeting and tailoring in-school and other support services, such as counselling, social assistance programmes and health services. 
• ·         Improving and scaling up violence prevention programmes in schools, including positive discipline training for teachers.
• ·         Protecting schools from conflict related violence, including incursions by security and military forces.

 

Media assets can be found at: https://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIFVMF7WS
The report can be found at: https://uni.cf/2OmQeXg