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“Blockages have prevented 10% to 90% of teachers from
reaching educational institutions”
stated Dima Al-Samman, head of the media department
at the Ministry of Education in a press conference held the premises of the
Palestine Media Center, on July 16 2001.
“Violence and blockages the Israeli government
imposed on Palestinian areas for the
past 255 days hindered the educational process on all
levels. Teachers have been forced
to take difficult and rough side routes and bypass
roads, which are extremely dangerous
in light of the Israeli settler aggression. Teachers
have also been subjected to physical and
verbal abuse. 21 teachers were arrested. Furthermore,
teachers were over burdened with
transportation fees that doubled due to the prolonged
routes.”
Three schools in Hebron were confiscated and turned into Israeli
military posts. The
education process in a sum of 66 schools throughout the West Bank
was suspended for
various periods. In Bethlehem, four schools were
closed for 62 days. In Nablus two schools
were closed for around 23 days.
Elementary as well as high schools including private
and UNRWA schools throughout the
west bank are not intact from frequent bombings and
shootings whereas 90 schools were
bombed, some repeatedly. Even schools for the
handicapped were not spared.
In
fear of random bombing by Israelis 50 schools were forced to
evacuate. The demolishing
along 50 meters of al-Khadir school in Bethlehem reveals Israel’s
intentions in obstructing
the
Palestinian educational process. Students have also been the victims
of Israeli
aggression and violence. Israeli occupation forces killed 90
Palestinian students, 2151
were shot and wounded of whom many are handicapped and bedridden.
Furthermore, 76
students were arrested. The Israeli government prevented 67 out of
854 students from
taking the Tawjihi examination (future determining
standard exams).
Palestinian students throughout the West Bank and
Gaza faced difficulties attending the
Tawjihi exams. Other than blockage and
transportation difficulties, the situation has been
problematic on the psychological level.
Dima al-Samman
demonstrated the mental trauma
students are living and what kind of effects it has on their
performance and concentration
abilities at school. She said “ in one of the classes from which a
student was killed by
Israeli forces, the classmates insisted that the deceased be
“promoted” along with the
classmates the coming year by taking his desk to the
new classroom.”
In an effort to cope
with the obstacles facing the education process, the Ministry of
Education and emergency
committees immediately searched for alternatives. Some schools were
transferred to
Mosques and others to kindergartens, tents and other free rooms
donated by the
community.
The Ministry
of Education has also provided school counselors in order to
assist students through the psychological problems they are facing
as a result of the current
situation.
In order to
lighten the burden on students during the final Tawjihi exams, the
Ministry of Education set the exams at 10:00am rather than 8:00am
in order to allow
enough time for students to pass checkpoints and
reach exam halls. Students are usually
assigned specific exam halls that are divided according to the
nature of the exam,
however, due to the current situation, students were
allowed to take exams at the
closest exam hall available to them. Fortunately,
almost all students were able to sit for
their exams.
The Ministry
of Education took into consideration the grave impact the current
situation has on the studying process of students. The exams were of
less difficulty and
consisted of more multiple-choice in relevance to
previous years.
When asked about the
Ministry’s expectations for the coming year 2001-2002, and whether
the Ministry had long
term plans to ensure the presumption of the educational process in
light of the political
situation, Dima replied, “The forms of Israeli violence and its
impact on the educational
process is unpredictable. Short term plans were drawn through out
this year, moreover, we
will start preparing long term plans for next year once the
results of the Tawjihi exams are
released.”
The Teacher’s
Creativity Center (TCC) also addressed the right to education.
They asserted, “ The ongoing Israeli aggression on
the Palestinian people has
turned the simple routine of going to school and
pursuing an education into a nightmare
for both parents and their children.”
The TCC has
launched a campaign aimed at gathering
a
million signatures with a petition demanding International
protection to guarantee the
Palestinian people their Human Rights.
Wisam al-Rafidi, from the TCC, expressed, their
“pessimistic expectations of the Israeli
government for next year,” and “ hope that this
appeal for international protection will
extend from the official level to be demanded by the
public through their own committees
such as the labor and student committees.”
Al-Rafidi elaborated on the promising fact that many
international organizations have
adopted the petition and signed it, including the
UNESCO, ISESCO and numerous Arab
countries such as Kuwait and the Emirates.
The TCC representative emphasized the importance of
the presence of international
delegations to witness the concrete issues suffered on the
Palestinian account.
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