Access to inclusive, quality and safe education for vulnerable children and youth

500,000
Students

Are in need of Humanitarian Education Assistance

14,000
Students

Benefited from teaching and learning activities

Approximately 1.3 million children are enrolled in 2,963 primary and secondary level schools in Palestine, half a million of whom are deemed in need of humanitarian education assistance. Owing to the chronic crisis and protracted conflict, the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Multi- Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) for the State of Palestine was established to strengthen the resilience and development of affected children, families and communities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Hebron and Area C. 

Throughout the programme, UNESCO sought to improve access to, and continuity of, inclusive and equitable education for girls and boys; relevance and quality of education in a protective and safe learning environment; and capacity of the education system to respond to emergency needs and deliver a coordinated response in crises as part of the overall education system. A priority intervention of UNESCO’s has been training supervisors, special education counsellors, school principals and teachers on inclusive education in the West Bank, including in so-called Determination Schools in hospitals.

The programme sought to target children who are most vulnerable and marginalized within the population of nearly 500,000 students in need. These are girls and boys who face obstacles to access, or cannot participate regularly in, learning activities in schools because of restrictions of movement, distance from school, military check points, harassment and sometimes violence, arbitrary detention, limited or debilitated school infrastructure, and a lack of sufficient classroom space and materials.

In 2021, UNESCO Ramallah, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education, launched teaching and learning activities to mitigate COVID-19 induced learning losses across 160 educational centres in the West Bank and Gaza. They focused on supporting students from grades 1-4 in strengthening their skills in both Arabic and Math and help them integrate in school life. The activities targeted 10,000 students, 34 supervisors and 360 teachers from different geographical locations in the West Bank.  

Similar activities were conducted in Gaza to benefit around 80 teachers, 34 supervisors and 4000 students.

Determination Schools in Palestine

DeterminationSchoolRamallah

Another achievement of the ECW project was the opening of Determination Schools (hospital-based schools) in Palestine in close collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. UNESCO is the only UN agency working in Determination Schools within the framework of the ECW partnership. These schools seek to provide a space of hope for Palestinian students at hospitals and upholds a responsibility to serve hospitalized children and students, asserting their rights to obtain quality health care and quality education regardless of their situation. In each Determination School, children resume their learning while hospitalized, through curricular and extra-curricular activities. The activities demonstrate concern for hospitalized children, their medical and sensory problems, their age, and their academic level. 

Educational activities are carried out in a comfortable, and supportive environment, dispelling fear, anxiety and feelings of sadness or loneliness.