Education in the Palestinian territories

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Islamic University of Gaza Mosque conf hall iug.jpg
Islamic University of Gaza

Education in the Palestinian territories refers to the educational system in Gaza and the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. [ dubious ] Enrollment rates amongst Palestinians are relatively high by regional and global standards. According to a youth survey in 2003, 60% between the ages 10–24 indicated that education was their first priority. Youth literacy rate (the ages 15–24) is 98.2%, while the national literacy rate is 91.1% [1] Enrollment ratios for higher education were 46.2% in 2007, among the highest in the world.

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 the Palestinian territories. It was established in 1994 after the formation of the Palestinian National Authority.

Contents

Education System

There are three types of schools from perspective of gender in the Palestinian territories: boys’ schools (37%), girls’ schools (35%), and co-educational schools (29%). [2]

In the Palestinian territories education system, compulsory basic education includes Grades 1 to 10 and this is divided into the preparatory stage (Grades 1 to 4) and the empowerment stage (Grades 5 to 10). Secondary education (general secondary education and a few vocational secondary schools) covers Grades 11 and 12. In tertiary education, there are 11 universities (10 private and one public) and 11 technical colleges (4 Palestinian Authority, 2 UNRWA, 4 public and 1 private), all of which mainly offer four-year courses. Additionally, there are 19 community colleges (1 Palestinian Authority, 9 public, 2 UNRWA, and 7 private) that mainly offer two-year diploma courses in technical and commercial specializations. [3]

Secondary education education for most teenagers

Secondary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education is considered the second and final phase of basic education, and level 3 (upper) secondary education is the stage before tertiary education. Every country aims to provide basic education, but the systems and terminology remain unique to them. Secondary education typically takes place after six years of primary education and is followed by higher education, vocational education or employment. Like primary education, in most countries secondary education is compulsory, at least until the age of 16. Children typically enter the lower secondary phase around age 11. Compulsory education sometimes extends to age 19.

Tertiary education advanced level of education, usually for adults

Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and postsecondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as further education in the United Kingdom, or continuing education in the United States.

The first refugee camp schools for were established by the Red Cross in 1949. [4] First UNRWA elementary six-year schools befun in 1959-60 school year. [5] UNRWA schools offer Grades 1 to 10 and do not provide secondary education (Grade 11 and 12). UNRWA’s education provision has played a major role in Palestinian territories education since 1967 [6]

International Committee of the Red Cross humanitarian institution

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.

Even if students in Grade 1 to 3 do not achieve well, they are not to repeat a grade at that level by the ministry policy. However, students in Grades 4 to 12 are to repeat by the ministry regulations (maximum of 5 percent of a class cohort), which is based on the students’ total average achievement score for a year. There is no remedial teaching for the students nominated to repeat during their repeated year. [2]

Education Management

University College of Applied Sciences Ucas1.jpg
University College of Applied Sciences

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) was first established and took responsibility in 1994. (MOEHE website) In 1996, the MOEHE was divided into two separate ministries: the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, and these two ministries were merged again to become the MOEHE in 2002. (Nicolai 2007) The MOEHE has a responsibility for the whole education sector from pre-primary to higher education and for recruiting and training teachers as well. The MOEHE works as the liaison on training issues with the education directorates. (Mustafa and Bisharat 2008) The MOEHE is also in charge of managing governmental educational institutions and supervising private educational institutions and institutions run by UNRWA. [7]

Education in Palestinian territories is centralized in regard to its curriculum, textbooks, instructions, and regulations. The administrative structure of the general education is composed of 22 fields’ directorates (districts offices) of education, including 16 in the West Bank and 6 in Gaza [2]

The mission of the MOEHE is 1) to ensure education for all, 2) improve its quality and its standards, and 3) to ultimately develop citizens with sound and balanced characters [7]

Education Finance

Funding for the education system comes from the government budget through the Ministry of Finance [2] Government expenditure on education as % of total government expenditure is 17.9 in 2003 [8] The remaining funding in education comes from donors and international organizations [2] In Palestine territories, access to schools is primarily constrained by physical conditions and movement restrictions. However, insufficient investment in upgrading education has led to crowding and deterioration in the learning environment. Schools have lost their revenue base from fees, and faced difficulties in securing basic school supplies and materials. The limited services for students with special needs, facing psychological trauma, has also become evident. The inequity in resource allocation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has become serious as well. [9]

Education Policy

A formal sector plan was not developed until five years after the creation of the MOEHE but this does not mean that planning was ignored until then. A formal five-year plan was first discussed in 1998, and it took more than a year to prepare. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) provided technical assistance in developing the plan, and the MOEHE set up two working teams; one focused on policy and another worked the details. Five-Year Education Development Plan 2000-2005 had five goals: 1) to provide access to education for all children, 2) to improve the quality of education, 3) to develop formal and non-formal education, 4) to develop management capacity in planning, administration, finance, and 5) to develop human resources across the education system. [10]

Education Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) 2008–2012 has four goals: 1) to increase access of school-aged children and students of all education levels and improve the ability of the education system to retain them (Access), 2) to improve the quality of teaching and learning (Quality), 3) to develop the capacity for planning and management and to improve the financial and management systems used (Management), and 4) to realize a gradual conversion of the higher education sector from a supply-oriented to a demand-oriented sector, which will gradually guarantee more compatibility between higher education outputs and labor market(s) need from qualitatively and quantitatively (Relevance). Goal 1 to 3 is for pre-school, general, non-formal, higher education, and vocational education, and Goal 4 is only for higher education and vocational education. [7]

Pre-Primary Education

Pre-primary education is for children, usually starting at 4 years and up to the age of 6 years. According to the 2004/2005 PCBS Educational Institutions Census, there were approximately 898 private kindergartens, and only 3 operated by the Palestinian Authority. (WB and BCRD 2006) Although most kindergartens are private, the MOEHE provides technical and educational supervision, teacher training and licensing, and some funding [2]

The number of male and female children was roughly equal, and most kindergartens have co-educational system. [1] Gross enrollment ratios for pre-primary education are 29.9% for total, 30.3% for boys, and 29.5% for girls [11]

Basic Education

Preparation Stage

In the preparatory stage, a total of 383,748 students (male 195,618 and female 188,130) were enrolled in schools during 2005/2006 school year. Among them, 238,500 students (62 percent of total) were in schools provided by Palestinian Authority, 109,419 students (29 percent) were in schools provided by UNRWA, and 35,829 students (9 percent) were in private schools [12]

Gross enrollment ratios for preparatory stage are 80.4% for total, 80.4% for boys, and 80.4% for girls [11]

There is no grading system (marks) or written tests in Grade 1 to 4. Teachers assess students on the basis of their progress through formative assessments, observations, student portfolios, and other assigned student work as the basis of their graduating judgment [2]

Empowerment Stage

In the empowerment stage, a total of 569,873 students (male 296,247 and female 283,626) were enrolled in schools during the 2005-2006 school year. Among them, 398,672 students (70 percent of total) were in schools provided by the Palestinian Authority, 145,133 students (25 percent) are in schools provided by UNRWA, and 26,068 students (5 percent) were in private schools [12] Gross enrollment ratios for empowerment stage were 97.5% for total, 95.7% for male, and 99.5% for female students. [11]

There is a graduating examination in Grade 9. This examination is offered to students who have not completed Grade 9 or have left school and want to achieve a Grade 9 competency level equivalent to the Certificate of General Secondary Education Examination [2] Palestinian students at Grade 8 participated in TIMSS in 2003 and 2007. The score for mathematics test was 390 in 2003 and 367 in 2007 [13] The score for science test was 435 in 2003 and 404 in 2007 [14]

Secondary Education

Secondary education consists of two years, and includes an academic and a vocational program. (MOEHE 2005b) Students are able to select either of these programs, but their right to entry is based on successful completion of Grade 10 based on the results of their final assessments [2]

In secondary academic education in 2005/2006, a total 118,868 students were enrolled in schools. Among them, most students were enrolled in schools provided by the Palestinian Authority (114,790 students, 97 percent of total), and about 3 percent of the students were enrolled in private schools. UNRWA does not provide education at secondary level [12] Gross enrollment ratios for empowerment stage were 97.5% for total, 95.7% for male, and 99.5% for female students. [11]

In secondary vocational education during the 2005/2006 school year, a total of 5,999 students were enrolled in schools. Among them, most students were enrolled in schools operated by the Palestinian Authority (5,653 students, 94 percent of total), and about 6 percent of the students were enrolled in private schools [12] Gross enrollment ratios for empowerment stage are 97.5% for total, 95.7% for male, and 99.5% for female students. [11] Gross enrollment ratios for secondary education were 75.2% for total, 69.2% for male, and 81.6% for female students. [11]

In the secondary education 2005/2006 school year, there were in total 3,734 classes, of which 185 classes (5 percent) were co-educational. While in the West Bank the share of co-educational classes was 7.4 percent, in The Gaza Strip only 0.1 percent of the total classes were co-educational, in fact only one school. [12]

Certificate of General Secondary Education Examination (Tawjihee) was issued for high school students in grade 12 to prepare them for admission to the universities [2]

Higher education

Islamic University of Gaza Luhaidan Building - Islamic University of Gaza-mbn~ llHydn bljm`@ lslmy@ fy Gz@.jpg
Islamic University of Gaza

The university education consists of four years college education to obtain a bachelor's degree and additional two years for a master's degree. Some colleges provide two years of education for a diploma course. [2] During 2005 in the West Bank and Gaza, there were 10 universities, 1 distance education university (Al-Quds Open University), 13 university colleges, and 19 community colleges. [15] Most of these universities were established and developed mostly since the period of Israel occupation begun in 1967. Majority of the universities are non-profit institutions. They combine fund-raise with funding received from the Palestinian Authority. [16]

In Higher Education Institutions, 138,139 students were enrolled during the 2004/2005 academic year. Among them, 76,650 students (55% of total) were enrolled in universities, 46,453 students (34%) are enrolled in the distance education university, 6,034 students (4%) were enrolled in university colleges, and 9,002 students (7%) were enrolled in the community colleges. The male students share is greater than that of female students in the universities, open university and university colleges. On the other hand, the share of female students is greater in the community colleges. [15] (MOEHE 2005a) Gross enrollment ratios for higher education were 46.2% for total, 41.6% for male, and 50.9% for female students in 2007. [11]

More students enrolled in certain academic programs such as social science, education, and humanities and arts in higher education, and the share of science and engineering is proportionately less. [15]

Demand for tertiary education has increased significantly in the past decade with students enrolled in tertiary education institutions more than tripling between 1995 and 2006. Some academics[ who? ] have suggested that Palestinian Authority higher education system needs to not only satisfy the increasing demand from the growing population of secondary education graduates, but also to maintain quality and relevance to meet the changing demands of the global economy. In addition, public financing for tertiary education is considered insufficient given Palestinian Authority financial circumstances. The system heavily depends on student fees, which represent 60% of universities’ operating costs. [17]

The MOEHE has developed a new student loan scheme for tertiary education. The objectives of this loan scheme are: 1) to create a sustainable resource that will assist students into the future, 2) to ensure that students understand their responsibility to share the cost of their education, 3) to provide a strong, streamlined repayment system that is easy and fair (repayments of loans must be collected from all students), and 4) to provide a collection mechanism that will ensure sustainability (a revolving fund) [17]

UNESCO states that because of "isolation, [the Universities] have suffered in particular from the absence of research departments."[ citation needed ]

"Inter-university co-operation programmes are underway, such as TOKTEN, PEACE and MEDCAMPUS. They are supported by partners such as the European Union, UNESCO and the UNDP. The PEACE programme (Palestinian-European Academic Co-operation in Education) involves 23 Palestinian Authority and European universities. It has been particularly noteworthy for having allowed students and teachers from the West Bank and Gaza to be admitted to European faculties at a time when the university establishments of Gaza and the West Bank were closed. In a second phase, it is to provide for the dispatch of missions of volunteer academics, on sabbatical, from Europe, North America and the rest of the world to the West Bank and Gaza." [18] "Palestinian students wishing to obtain a doctorate must study either in Israel, or overseas." [19]

Academic organizations

Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET)

Formal vocational education starts after basic education and lasts two years. After graduation, students can join university colleges(diploma in 2 years or Bachelor in 4 years) or colleges(2 years). [20] There are five streams in school-based vocational training: industrial, agricultural, commercial, hotel and home economics. Fifteen secondary industrial schools offer 17 specializations and 2,185 students are enrolled in 2004/05. All but three of these industrial schools are funded by government. Sixty four academic secondary schools offer commercial subjects and nearly 3,000 students are enrolled. The two hotel training schools are private. Total students enrollment for the five streams increased from around 3,000 in 1999/2000 to 5,561 in 2004/05. This is considerably lower than the MOEHE 2000-2005 target (9,000 students enrollment). This is partly because this type of training remains unpopular among most students and parents/guardians. [2]

The demand for most vocational training is weak. A few community colleges with limited capacity of 200-300 students have high applicant-place ratio (especially for nursing and the UNRWA Gaza Training Centre). The rest of community colleges have only around one applicant-place ratio. Manual skilled occupations continue to have low status and only the least academically able students are expected to enroll at TVET institutions. The majority of colleges have low student-teacher ratios and high unit cost. [3]

In addition to community colleges, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs provides other TVET opportunities. Twelve Rehabilitation Centers that target dropouts, slow learners are run by this Ministry. Total enrollments were around 850 in 2004/05 with 380 graduates. The Ministry of Ex-Detainees also offers TVET to around 1,000 students and most of them are males. Four hundred fifty students are enrolled in the National Institute of Information Technology. [3] The ministry also handles TVET centres (enrollment: 6600 students, which offer curriculum in trade (2 years), technical/semi-professional (2 years) and certificate courses (1 –2 years). Besides, The UNRWA provides short-term courses (8–40 weeks). [20]

National Curriculum

A unified curriculum was applied in both the West Bank and the Gaza after using curriculum from other nations for a long time. The implementation phase of the national curriculum began by implementing national textbooks in all subjects in 2000. The textbooks were first implemented in Grade 1 and Grade 6, followed by textbooks for Grade 2 and Grade 7 in 2001. By the beginning of the 2006-2007, all students in all grades were using the Palestinian national textbooks [2]

Research institutes
Schools

Education for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA has been the main provider of basic education to Palestinian refugee children since 1950. Basic education is available to all registered refugee children free of charge up to around the age of 15. By 31 December 2009, there were close to 482,000 students enrolled in 691 schools. [21] UNRWA schools follow the curriculum of their host countries. This allows UNRWA pupils to progress to further education or employment holding locally recognised qualifications and fits with the sovereignty requirements of countries hosting refugees. [22]

In the 1960s UNRWA schools became the first in the region to achieve full gender equality. Overcrowded classrooms containing 40 or even 50 pupils are common. Almost all of UNRWA's schools operate on a double shift - where two separate groups of pupils and teachers share the same buildings. Not all refugee children attend UNRWA schools. In Jordan and Syria children have full access to government schools and many attend those because they are close to where they live. UNRWA also operates eight vocational and technical training centres and three teacher training colleges that have places for around 6,200 students.

See also

Related Research Articles

UNRWA United Nation Organization

Created in December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency which supports more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees, and their patrilineal descendants, who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war as well as those who fled or were expelled during and following the 1967 Six Day war. Originally intended to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief, today UNRWA provides education, health care, and social services to the population it supports. Aid is provided in five areas of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is provided by UNHCR.

Education in Japan is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper secondary and university levels. Education prior to elementary school is provided at kindergartens and day-care centers. Public and private day-care centers take children from under age 1 on up to 5 years old. The programmes for those children aged 3–5 resemble those at kindergartens. The educational approach at kindergartens varies greatly from unstructured environments that emphasize play to highly structured environments that are focused on having the child pass the entrance exam at a private elementary school. The academic year starts from April and ends in March, having summer vacation in August and winter vacation in the end of December to the beginning of January. Also, there are few days of holidays between academic years. The period of academic year is the same all through elementary level to higher educations nationwide.

Education in Uganda

The system of education in Uganda has a structure of 7 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education, and 3 to 5 years of post-secondary education. The government of Uganda recognizes education as a basic human right and continues to strive to provide free primary education to all children in the country. However, issues with funding, teacher training, rural populations, and inadequate facilities continue to hinder the progress of educational development in Uganda.

Education in Botswana

Education in Botswana is provided by public schools and private schools. Education in Botswana is governed by Ministry of Education and Skills Development.

Education in Egypt

In recent years the Government of Egypt has given greater priority to improving the education system. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), Egypt is ranked 115 in the HDI, and 9 in the lowest 10 HDI countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, in 2014. With the help of the World Bank and other multilateral organizations Egypt aims to increase access in early childhood to care and education and the inclusion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all levels of education, especially at the tertiary level. The government is responsible for offering free education at all levels. The current overall expenditure on education is about 12.6 percent as of 2007. Investment in education as a percentage of GDP rose to 4.8 in 2005 but then fell to 3.7 in 2007. The Ministry of Education is also tackling a number of issues: trying to move from a highly centralized system to offering more autonomy to individual institutions, thereby increasing accountability.

Education in Nepal

Education in Nepal was long based on home-schooling and gurukulas. The first formal school, established by Jung Bahadur Rana in 1853, was intended for the elite. The birth of Nepalese democracy in 1951 opened its classrooms to a more diverse population. Education in Nepal from the primary school to the university level has been modeled from the very inception on the Indian system, which is in turn the legacy of the old British Raj.

With a growing population, Syria has a good basic education system. Since 2000 the Government of Syria has significantly increased the expenditure on education 1 to 6. In 2002, elementary and primary education were combined into one basic education stage and education was made compulsory and free from grades 1 to 9.

Education in Saudi Arabia

When Saudi Arabia formally became a nation in 1932, education was largely limited to instruction for a select few in Islamic schools. Today, public education—from primary education through college—is open to every Saudi citizen.

Education in Bulgaria

Education in Bulgaria is overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science. Since 2012, compulsory education includes two years of preschool education, before children start primary school. Education is compulsory until age of 16. Education at state-owned schools is free of charge, except for the higher education schools, colleges and universities.

Education in Ghana

Education in Ghana was mainly informal, and based on apprenticeship before the arrival of European settlers, who introduced a formal education system addressed to the elites. Pre-Independent Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. The economy of Pre-Colonial Gold Coast was mainly dependent on subsistence farming where farm produces were shared within households and members of each household specialized in providing their household with other necessities such as cooking utilities, shelter, home, clothing and furnitures. Trade with other households was therefore practiced in a very small scale. This has made economic activities in pre-colonial Gold Coast a family institution/customs; family owned and family controlled. As such, there was no need for employment outside the household which would have otherwise called for discipline(s), value(s) and skill(s) through a formal education system. Pre-Colonial Gold Cost therefore practiced an informal education(apprenticeship) until it was colonized and its economy became a hybrid of subsistence and formal economy.

Education in Lebanon is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). In Lebanon, English or French with Arabic are taught from early years in schools. English or French are the mandatory medium of instruction for mathematics and science for all schools. Education is compulsory from age 6 to age 14.

Education in Jordan

Jordan prides itself on its advanced education system. Jordanians are well educated since education is considered a core value in Jordanian culture. Jordan has the highest ratio of researchers in Research and Development among all 57 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states. In Jordan, there are 8060 researchers per million people, higher than the EU average of 6494, and much higher than the world average of 2532 per million.

Education in Cambodia

Education in Cambodia is controlled by the state through the Ministry of Education in a national level and by the Department of Education at the provincial level. The Constitution of Cambodia establishes that the state shall protect and upgrade citizen's rights to quality education at all levels, guaranteeing that all citizens have equal opportunity to earn a living. The state shall adopt an education program "according to the principle of modern pedagogy including technology and foreign languages," as well as the state controls public and private schools and classrooms at all levels. The Cambodian education system includes pre-school, primary, general secondary, higher education and non-formal education. The education system includes the development of sport, information technology education, research development and technical education. School enrollment has increased during the 2000s in Cambodia. USAID data shows that in 2011 primary enrollment reached 96% of the child population, lower secondary school 34% and upper secondary 21%.

Education in Yemen

The Government of Yemen has made the development of education system its top priority. The share of the budget dedicated to education has remained high during the past decade, averaging between 14 and 20% of the total government expenditure and as of 2000 it is 32.8 percent. The education expenditure is 9.6 percent of GDP for the year 2001 as seen in the chart below. In the strategic vision for the next 25 years since 2000,the government has committed to bring significant changes in the education system, thereby reducing illiteracy to less than 10% by 2025. Although Yemen’s government provides for universal, compulsory, free education for children ages six through 15, the more U.S. Department of State reports that compulsory attendance is not enforced. The country ranked 150 out of 177 in the 2006 Human Development Index and 121 out of 140 countries in the Gender Development Index(2006). In 2005, 81 percent of Yemen’s school-age population was enrolled in primary school; enrollment of the female population was 74 percent. Then in 2005, about 46 percent of the school-age population was enrolled in secondary school, including only 30 percent of eligible females. The country is still struggling to provide the requisite infrastructure. School facilities and educational materials are of poor quality, classrooms are too few in number, and the teaching faculty is inadequate.

Education in Morocco

The education system in Morocco comprises pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. School education is supervised by the Ministry of National Education, with considerable devolution to the regional level. Higher education falls under the Ministry of Higher Education and Executive Training.

Education in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory for nine years, between ages seven and 15. Following four years of primary and five years of lower secondary school, the system offers two years of upper secondary school, specialized secondary school, or vocational/technical school.

The State of Kuwait, located at the head of the Persian Gulf, supports an educational policy that seeks to provide opportunity to all children, irrespective of their social class, including children with special needs. Kuwait was ranked 63rd on the Human Development Index report for 2011 by the United Nations Development Programme, placing Kuwait above the regional average. The education system in Kuwait has celebrated several achievements; in the year ending 2006, thirteen percent of all public expenditure was given to education, comparable to many OECD countries, although lower than other Arab nations. As a percentage of GDP, at 3.9 percent, it remains well below the OECD average.

Education in Benin

Benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 Educational Forum. In 1996, the gross primary enrollment rate was 72.5 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 59.3 percent. A far greater percentage of boys are enrolled in school than girls: In 1996, the gross primary enrollment rate for boys was 88.4 percent as opposed to 55.7 percent for girls. The net primary enrollment rates were 71.6 percent for boys and 46.2 percent for girls. Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for Benin as of 2001.

Since gaining independence from France in 1956, the government of Tunisia has focused on developing an education system which produces a solid human capital base that could respond to the changing needs of a developing nation. Sustained structural reform efforts since the early 1990s, prudent macroeconomic policies, and deeper trade integration in the global economy have created an enabling environment for growth. This environment has been conducive to attain positive achievements in the education sector which placed Tunisia ahead of countries with similar income levels, and in a good position to achieve MDGs. According to the HDI 2007, Tunisia is ranked 90 out of 182 countries and is ranked 4th in MENA region just below Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. Education is the number one priority of the government of Tunisia, with more than 20 percent of government’s budget allocated for education in 2005/06. As of 2006 the public education expenditure as a percentage of GDP stood at 7 percent.

Husn Camp or Al-Husn Camp, known locally as Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. It is located near Al Husn, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Amman. It was established in 1968 as an emergency camp to house 12,500 refugees who were displaced from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six-Day War. As of 2005, it housed 50,573 refugees. The camp has a women's centre, four schools in two buildings, a health centre, a food distribution centre, and a rehabilitation centre.

References

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  18. UNESCO
  19. BBC
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Elias H.Tuma, Haim Darin-Drabkin, The Economic Case for Palestine, Croom Helm, London 1978 p. 48. (respectively, Professor of Economics at Cal-U, Davis, and Director of the Institute for Land Resource Planning, at Tel Aviv and consultant for the UN)