Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education

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Not to be confused with Education Minister of the Gaza Strip.
Ministry of Education and Higher Education of the Palestinian National Authority
Agency overview
Formed1994
JurisdictionPalestine
HeadquartersRamallah, West Bank
Minister responsible
  • Minister of Education
Parent agencyPalestinian National Authority

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education of the Palestinian National Authority is the branch of the Palestinian government in charge of managing the education in Palestine. It was established in 1994 after the formation of the Palestinian National Authority.[1]

Nasser al-Shaer, the former Minister of Education was arrested by Israeli authorities twice for membership in Hamas and released both times. After the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed all Hamas ministers including Shaer.[citation needed]

Marwan Awartani was appointed minister in 2019 and served from April 14, 2019 until his resignation was accepted on September 3, 2023.[2]

Activities[edit]

Throughout 2001-2005, the ministry finalized the establishment of a Palestinian national curriculum by hiring teachers and providing classrooms and books.

The five programs of the plan were:

  1. Education as a human right Aim to provide an opportunity for all children from kindergarten to secondary school, by recruiting new teachers, adding new classrooms, textbooks, increasing the level of enrollment in the secondary stage, and decreasing the dropout rate.
  2. Education as the basic component of citizenship Developing quality education is the production, assessment, evaluation, and enrichment of school textbooks and instruction manuals for the Palestinian Curriculum as well as teacher and supervisor training.
  3. Education as a tool for social and economic development Developing a vocational and technical training program aiming to meet the basic needs of the local market, and providing a skilled workforce that can contribute positively to the national economy. Providing schools with the necessary equipment and resources.
  4. Education as a tool for social and economic development Developing new programs for general education, pre-school, informal education, adult education, and special education, that is available for the general population.
  5. Education as a continuous, renewable, participatory process Restructuring the financial and administrative systems to ensure efficient use of available resources. The program will include the school-map project, as well as reinforce concepts of strategic planning and organizational administration. Also, developing and reviewing policies, and rules and regulations; updating of position responsibilities and job descriptions; and developing relations between schools and the local community.[3]

Other activities are training and providing income for teachers, increasing the quality of school technology as well as expanding and building new schools.

In 2007, the ministry confiscated around 1,500 copies of the book Speak Bird, Speak Again, which featured Palestinian hikaye, from public school libraries on the grounds that the stories used colloquial and sometimes offensive language that was unsuitable for teaching children.[4] However, after a storm of public outrage, this decision was soon withdrawn.[5]

Education Minister[edit]

Name Party Date
Hanan Ashrawi Independent 1996–1998
Nasser al-Shaer Hamas March 2006-June 2007
Lamis al-Alami[6] Independent June 2007- April 11, 2013
Ali zaidan/ abu zuhri[7] Independent June 6, 2013- June 2, 2014
khawla al- shakshier[8] Independent June 2, 2014- August 2, 2015
Sabri Saidam Fatah August 2, 2015- April 14, 2019 [9]
Marwan Awartani Independent April 14, 2019- presnt[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Ministry Archived 2006-08-21 at archive.today Palestinian Ministry of Education & Higher Education, 2006.
  2. ^ "Palestinian Education Minister Awartani Steps Down". The Media Line. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  3. ^ The Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) A Comprehensive Reform of the Educational System: Implementation of the comprehensive Five-Year-Plan[permanent dead link] Palestinian Ministry of Education & Higher Education, 2006
  4. ^ "Hamas school book ban sparks anger". Toronto Star. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. ^ "Hamas reverse on schoolbook ban". 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ "- الموقع الرسمي - مجلس الوزراء الفلسطيني". Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  7. ^ "- الموقع الرسمي - مجلس الوزراء الفلسطيني". Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  8. ^ "- الموقع الرسمي - مجلس الوزراء الفلسطيني". Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  9. ^ "- الموقع الرسمي - مجلس الوزراء الفلسطيني". Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  10. ^ "سما" تنشر اسماء التشكيلة الوزارية في حكومة "اشتية". دنيا الوطن (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-04-17.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ministry of Education (State of Palestine).
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