UNRWA opens school year in 96 schools in West Bank

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hassan Abdel Jawad - Amal Al-Khatib, Deputy Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, said that UNRWA continues its efforts to improve the quality of education in its schools, in Palestinian camps, gatherings and marginalized areas in the West Bank, despite the difficult and harsh conditions, and because of the great challenges it faces in its areas of operation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem. This came during the opening of the school year at the first and second Al-Dheisheh Boys' Elementary Schools, in the presence of Amjad Abu Laban, Director of the Relief Agency in the Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates, Engineer Hanadi Al-Aissa, Head of the Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Program in the West Bank, Jaafar Al-Tayti, Director of Education at the Relief Agency in the Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates, Zeina Kami, Director of the Financial Support Program at the Relief Agency, Muhammad Atiya Ramadan, Director of the First Al-Dheisheh Boys' Elementary School, Direc tor of the Al-Dheisheh Camp Jihad Fararjah, and many local community figures. Al-Khatib explained, in an interview with Al-Ayyam correspondent, "The Relief Agency considers education one of the priorities of the agency's work, which provides educational services in 96 schools affiliated with it in the West Bank governorates, and it is keen to provide this service and secure it in a stimulating and healthy environment, and in cooperation and partnership with the local community in the refugee camps." Al-Tayti said that UNRWA opened the school year in 27 schools in the Bethlehem and Hebron areas affiliated with it, including 12 schools in the camps of the two governorates, and the others serve refugee communities in marginalized areas adjacent to the 1948 borders, in which 15,200 male and female students study. Al-Tayti pointed out that the buildings of the first and second Al-Dheisheh primary schools, which were completed a month ago, received more than 800 students from the camp and the surrounding refugee communities at the beginning of the new year, pointing to an increase in the number of students in UNRWA schools, due to the difficult economic conditions, and the fact that UNRWA schools are an attractive and stimulating environment for education. Engineer Al-Aissa said that the two schools in Deheishe camp were built according to high-quality designs, classroom spaces, environment and services that motivate the students of the two schools, at a financial cost of three and a half million dollars, and a four-story building area of ??more than 4 thousand square meters, in addition to public facilities, halls, playgrounds and gardens with large areas. This was funded by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and managed by the Islamic Development Bank in its capacity as director of the Al-Aqsa Fund. She pointed out that UNRWA has been able, in the past few years, to complete the construction of three schools with high specifications, and to provide educational services to thousands of male and fema le students in the Deheishe and Aida camps in Bethlehem, and Beit Ula in Hebron, at a cost of 10 million dollars. It is also working to mobilize funding in order to improve the school and educational facilities in the agency's schools. Source: Maan News Agency