The Israel and Palestine issue is not alien to most of us and the protracted Israeli occupation has had its several effects on the Palestinians. However, the impact of the whole political situation has created a havoc for the educational field in Palestine as the situation has forced the Palestinians and the refugees residing in the Gaza strip or the west bank to compromise on the educational access.
The assault on Gaza by the Israeli soldiers has restricted the Palestinians right to education as the political situation of the countries remain high unstable while many people die or get injured on almost a daily basis. Now, when the political situation in Palestine starts getting out of hands, many people are then forced to be displaced and recently, around 40,000 people had to seek their shelter in schools.
Now, how are children supposed to acquire education when the schools would be full of people seeking shelter in schools? Moreover, the current political situation of Palestine suggests that the commencement and proper functioning of the schools seems to be a hard task because of the ongoing attacks and assassinations.
Israel's "apartheid colonial" education policies, attacks on educational institutions, confiscation and censorship of educational materials, segregation, and control over curricula for Palestinians inside Israel and in the occupied territories all work against Palestinians' right to education.
Even before the most recent offensive, education in Gaza was in bad shape, mostly because of Israel's blockade. The blockade makes it hard for people and goods to get to schools, which hurts the education system. Building materials for schools, books, textbooks, and pencils are often not allowed into Gaza, and there isn't enough fuel to keep the power on. So, almost half of Palestinian students don't meet the goals for basic learning set by international benchmarks.
It is also important to ponder upon the fact that most people in Palestine are deprived of necessities like water, food and shelter and due to the high poverty rates, they do not afford to send their children to schools either. It will not be wrong to say that Palestine is in the need of educational donations right now.
The voice of the Palestinians is also suppressed by the authorities because the academic freedom of Palestinian students and faculty in the West has been severely compromised, and any terminology that would serve to affirm the Palestinian people's existence and identity has been systematically prohibited. The military censor must review and approve all textbooks, reading materials, and magazines planned for use in Palestinian schools. The Palestinian question, Palestinian roots, and Palestinian cultural heritage are routinely censored, and teachers are not permitted to use supplemental materials to enrich the curriculum.
The Israel and Palestine conflict has created several problems for both countries as they struggle to empower their youth with knowledge. The lack of opportunities, political instability, lack of focus on education and the high number of dislocated people has created a havoc for the Palestinians by disturbing their normal life.
I think there's a pretty obvious ideological undercurrent taught through the education system which has prolonged this issue. Israel-Palestine is taught as a fight on religious grounds. It is considered an Islam vs. Judaism debate, and it is taught that way in schools.
In actuality, the clash is way more political than religious. By calling it a religious divide, Israel indoctrinates its people into thinking of zionism as a non-negotiable. It dehumanizes anyone who disagrees with the notion, and it starts with the classrooms.
Reading the comment and the blog post, stopped me for a few seconds to ponder over the idea. Firstly, to see the colonial mindset incorporated into palestine over the years and the silence of so called "great powers" over the issue, make the case of education and voilence more prone and severe. If there's an ongoing conflict which severely affects education, there should be proper handling of the case by nations across the issue as I mentioned in one of my blogs. Secondly, to talk about the comment, it was very interesting to know about 97% literacy rate in afghanistan, however, upon my research, I only found 37% literacy rate in 2021 which is more urban-organized ratio of the data.…
I remember that a group presented in class on this conflict and they highlighted how the literacy rate in Palestine was 97%. With schools being used as shelters, teachers being attacked, and lac of educational infrastructure, how is Palestine able to produce such a high literacy rate? Given the protracted nature of the conflict, have the Palestinians found an alternative way to impart education to the youth? Are there some informal ways in which education is being provided to children outside of schools? Or are the figures completely misrepresent the situation that prevails in Palestine?