Access to Education and Displaced Children in Palestine

By Dr Diyana Kasimon & Dr Feroz De Costa

Education for All

Education is a top priority since it is a fundamental human right and the basis for fostering peace and driving long-term development. Education has its own dedicated Goal 4, which seeks to “provide inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” as part of a worldwide drive to eradicate poverty via 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Inclusive education is defined in Article 1 of the 2017 Education Law as “education that does not exclude any students, regardless of difficulty, disability, sex, or colour while taking personal differences into consideration and fulfilling needs.”

To the advantage of everybody, inclusive education encourages students from all backgrounds to learn and grow alongside one another. Every child has the right to a good education and to learn. Inclusive education attempts to establish and achieve systemic changes in policies, resource allocation, teaching techniques, curriculum, infrastructure, access, and the like so that the education system becomes flexible and learner-centred and meets the needs of all students.

According to an Ainscow report published in 2020, despite 25 years of global debate, international consensus on inclusive education remains elusive. As per UNESCO data from 2017, it is increasingly seen as a philosophy that welcomes and celebrates diversity among all learners.

Hence, it is critical in maintaining equal rights to education strategy that incorporates both systemic reforms and customised support to possibly enhance the quality of education for all young people within a national education system. Policies should draw on the knowledge and skills of everyone involved in children’s lives, including families and children themselves.

Education and Displaced Children

In conjunction with the International Day of Education 2022, which is themed “Changing Course, Transforming Education”, it is about time we are being serious with what we stand for especially pertaining to education and children. In particular, we would like to emphasise the topic of displaced children and its impact on their education.

According to UNICEF, displaced children are children that are affected due to conflict, poverty, and climate change. Often, these children generally face danger, deprivation, and discrimination in the process. Particularly in nations that are constantly under conflict like Palestine-Israel, the children frequently become collateral damage. We have witnessed the number of children killed, suffering, and becoming displaced due to military operations all these years.

As shown by Israel Prison Services (IPS) data, there were 167 Palestinian children in IPS detention from the West Bank and East Jerusalem for alleged security-related offences on a monthly average between January and September 2020, with a total of 157 children detained at the end of September, including two children held in administrative detention which is approximately 1 per cent, 93 children held in pretrial detention and or during their trials around 59 per cent, and two children held in administrative detention which is about 1 per cent.

While children who do not have to go through these sufferings get to enjoy their rights as children that include education, the children of Palestine however are forced to witness their schools were damaged by the Israeli Force (IF) airstrikes. For example, on 13 August two schools being damaged in IF strikes, reportedly on armed groups’ military sites, in Beit Hanoun and Al Shati camp, affecting 1,781 pupils.

On top of that, children’s education in Palestine is also interfered by clashes and tear gasses as well as other weapons around the schools. Not only that, students and teachers have to face threats and intimidations due to military presence. These incidents do not only impede the children’s learning process but also affect them psychologically.

Based on the United Nation’s mandate for International Day of Education this year, we at Justice for Palestine Action Front (JPAF) believe that schools should be made safe in the areas of conflict. Childhood is such a fragile stage for children development, and education through schools can create a remarkable impact on their well-being. The data from Occupied Palestinian Territories (2020) have shown that 53 schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are at risk of being demolished and at approximately 5250 children are at risk of losing out their education.

Source: UNRWA

JPAF also believes that Palestine deserves an independent state for all in which Muslims, Christians, and Jews can all live joyfully in freedom, justice, and peace. Apartheid in Israel was able to persist because of the current unequivocal international support and disinterest in finding a long term solution. To put a stop to these injustices and crimes against humanity especially among innocent children, the international community must withdraw its support for Israel, while also supporting Palestine’s right to self-determination and assisting it in becoming a viable political force.

In accordance with this, education-related violence must be quickly ended in conjunction with this year’s theme of “Changing Course, Transforming Education.” Otherwise, will this year’s educational efforts make any difference, particularly in conflict and war zone areas?