2024-09-09 06:40:54
They found their burgundy clothes, but the classes changed. It has returned to the school for students of the Latin Patriarchate school of Beit Sahour. The courtyard was overflowing with the joy of reunion. The bell is ringing. End of vacation. As silence fell on the concrete square, overlooked by the bell tower of the neighboring church, the director of this private establishment took a deep breath, as if to give himself courage: “We try and we hope to be able to continue to give them an education worthy of the name. » At the head of school from 2020, Anton Jaraysah wants to be authentic: “Given the political situation, the situation is likely to be worse than last year. »
The war, which began a month after the start of the 2023 school year, has seriously affected Palestinian society, its economy, freedom of movement and, ultimately, its education system. A place of socialization, education, openness to others, West Bank schools are a pillar whose foundations are asphyxiated by Israeli occupation, lack of money and political vision.
“It’s not the children’s fault”
In Beit Sahour, a neighborhood of Bethlehem, most of the residents live on income from traveling or working in Israel. The suspension of pilgrimages and the cancellation of 148,000 work permits issued by the Jewish government saw unemployment exceed 32% across the Palestinian Territories in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 12.9% before the war, according to a World Bank report. published in the newspaper. end of May The Palestinians are getting poorer. “Almost 40% of our families are unable to pay school fees of up to €1,100. These are the least in the private sector,” alarms Anton Jaraysah, who welcomes 410 students. In the more expensive Terra Sancta School for Girls in Bethlehem, that rate rises to 70 percent.
It is impossible to sell students out or force families to pay. “What can we do?” It’s not the children’s fault. They have the right to education. “… To complete the budget and cover the deficit of €10,000, the director has to raise money abroad, in addition to help from the Latin Patriarchate.
Due to lack of money, some families turn to everyone: “Around ten students have arrived from the private sector”, read Asmahan Atrash, director of the Beit Sahour girls’ school. Free, Palestinian government schools are known to be poor. Since October 7, 2023, they have caused the financial collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA), whose income taxes are deliberately withheld by Israel. The largest employer in the Palestinian Territories, the PA now only pays 60% of the salaries of 147,000 civil servants, has accumulated seven months of unemployment and is struggling to provide some services to the population, including schools.
“We only pay €500 a month. It’s very difficult, especially because prices have increased everywhere,” moderately avoided Eva Abufarah, a French teacher at the public school of Beit Sahour and a mother of three children. However, he said he remains motivated: “We think of our students as if they were our children. Education is the only weapon we have left. »
“It’s hard for students to concentrate”
Since the beginning of the war, public schools have offered only two days of classes. The rest is done online. The adjustment you want to match the rigors of military service: “Israeli soldiers blocked roads and cities. Neither students nor teachers can come to school,” explained Asmahan Atrash. Choice has its limits: “In some families, five children are often connected to the same wifi, and it doesn’t work well. Others cannot afford to buy a computer or tablet, show Eva Abufarah. When the kids go back to school, we have to do catch-up sessions… We fall behind. »
And that’s without counting the days of the strike to honor the Palestinian dead, during which the establishments are closed. In the Jenin refugee camp, besieged from August 28 to September 5 by the largest Israeli military operation in twenty years, the schools managed by UNRWA (UN Agency for Palestine Refugees) are unable to provide back to school, after a year of interrupted classes. In Gaza, none of the 608,000 students have been able to return to school.
Faced with this educational delay, it is difficult to recruit students whose motivation is waning. “Online teaching is a no-brainer. This has created a strange generation that has lost the passion for studies,” lamented Ebtisam Rabaiaa, who has been teaching Arabic for thirty years to the public in Ramallah. “It’s hard for students to concentrate, take Suzie, an English teacher at two private schools in Bethlehem. They were all saddened by what they experienced and what they saw. Some have family in Gaza, others live in refugee camps invaded by the army…”
“For everything to make us forget the bombs”
Everywhere, the level is falling. “With Covid, then the war, the children who should know how to read are not there at all. There is a real delay,” sighs Manar, the French teacher at the Latin Patriarchate school of Beit Sahour. “Students think we have to give them good grades even if they are not in grade, lamented Yousef Daoud, professor of economics at Bir Zeit University. Faced with the general feeling that there is no hope for the future, sometimes it is complicated to convince young people to pursue higher education: we have 90% drop in enrollment applications in our department. » The economist complains: “The Palestinian Authority does not support education, this will have long-term consequences. »
Faced with the uncertainty and structural problems of the Palestinian education system, everyone took it upon themselves. “No matter how we feel, when we enter the school, we must give everything to make them forget the bombs and the murders, lance Suzie. We push them, we push them. Our company has passed the Intifada, war… If this vision is lost, we cannot sit idly by. »
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2,400 schools in the West Bank have been occupied
There are 2,394 schools in the occupied West Bank: 1,896 government schools, 96 schools managed by Unrwa and 402 private schools, or approximately 17% of the education system.
By 2022, approximately 116,000 children are enrolled in private schools in the West Bank, or 15% of the total students.
Gaza Strip has 796 schools, including 442 under the government umbrella, 284 under Unwra and 70 under the private sector. None of them work anymore.
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