Education in the WB and GS can be assessed at several levels:
Although children under six (under compulsory school age) constitute a relatively high percentage of the population, not many of them attend pre-school. The number of children under six is estimated at half a million (22% of the population). In 1995/1996, 44,927 children attended pre-school and were distributed over 532 kindergarten with 1,460 teachers.
It is worthwhile to note here that 99% of kindergartens are owned by non-government, private or charitable organisations. Most of these kindergartens are located in cities and they house 29 to 40 children in each class.
79.3% of schools are located in the WB. The GS has 20 % of the overall number of schools. The majority of schools in the WB are under government supervision, whereas UNRWA runs most of the schools in the GS.
There are currently 1,416 schools in the WB and GS, 1061 of these schools are governmental, 134 of which are located in the GS and 153 in the WB. 146 schools in the WB and 11 in the GS are non-governmental or private. 77.4% of schools include the compulsory levels of education, and 22.6% are for secondary levels (10 grade and higher). 711,775 students attended these schools in 1996/1997 with a 90% attendance level for compulsory grades dropping down to less than 50% in the secondary level.
Average teacher/student ratio is 1/31. Private schools however have a 1/19 ratio as opposed to UNRWA schools who have 1 teacher for every 38 students.
The infrastructure and facilities in these schools leave much to be desired. They lack several basic services such as continuous supply of water and electricity. More than 43% of schools lack at least one basic service or facility. Schools in general, expect some secondary level ones, also lack educational facilities such as libraries, laboratories, music rooms etc.
Table 25: Availability of services in schools, including kindergartens
|
Territory |
Water |
Electricity |
Snack Bar |
||||
|
|
Available |
Not Available |
Partially Available |
Available |
Not Available |
Available |
Not Available |
|
West Bank |
1223 |
44 |
414 |
1340 |
341 |
759 |
922 |
|
Gaza Strip |
318 |
1 |
12 |
316 |
5 |
274 |
47 |
|
Total |
1541 |
45 |
416 |
1656 |
346 |
1033 |
969 |
Source: Hijjeh
As far as overcrowding is concerned, statistics show that the number of students in each class vary between 20 to 55 depending on the kind of school, the educational level of the class and the geographical location of the school. Average class occupancy is 36.8 student/class.
Community colleges
There are 19 community colleges attended by 4110 students. These colleges employ 498 teachers, 63% of whom are on full time basis.
Universities
There are 11 universities in the WB and GS, including the Open University of Jerusalem, Palestine Polytechnic and the College of Education in Gaza. The number of university students reached 46176 in 1996/1997, 26553 of whom are male students and 19643 are female students. Administrative staff at Palestinian universities was estimated at 1108 in addition to 484 technicians. Teacher/ student ratios range between 1/68 (in Al Azhar University in Gaza) and 1/11 (in Palestine Polytechnic Institute). 47% of university teachers are Ph.D. holders, 41% MA degree holders, and 12% BA degree holders or less.