Child Education Responsibility of All

Faculty of Education launches effort to strengthen collaboration between schools, local communities and Bethlehem University

13 February 2008

“Children Education is the responsibility of all” was the topic of a public meeting held by the Bethlehem University Faculty of Education on Monday, 4 February. The meeting gathered teachers and administrators from 11 public, private and UNRWA-run schools and representatives of local communities and non governmental organizations to assert that child education is the responsibility of the entire society. A second aim was to strengthen the collaboration between the different groups.

During the meeting participants reflected on the challenges educators in the West Bank face. Due to the tense political environment and poor financial situation most families must endure it has become increasingly difficult for teachers to deliver quality education to their pupils. They are frequently confronted with students who behave aggressively and students who show a total lack of motivation. In addition, communication with parents is often very challenging.

“The classroom is not enough to provide students with a real learning experience and to foster their personal growth. Many families feel that it is the task of the schools to assist them in teaching moral values. That means that we have to work together if we really want to provide the young generation with a complete education. We have to open the schools for the local communities and we have to open the community for the schools”, Rizek Sleibi, the Dean of the Education Faculty, explained.

A permanent committee of representatives of the Faculty of Education, school teachers and administrators, parents and representatives of the local community formed at the end of the meeting. Its task is to improve the communication between the different groups on a stable basis and to further deal with the topics tackled in the public meeting.

“The participants affirmed that there really is a need for such an initiative. It was encouraging to notice that they are very willing to cooperate. I am optimistic that this initiative is going to have a positive effect on schools and communities in the Bethlehem area”, Rizek Sleibi commented.

The public meeting is part of a three year project entitled “Quality Education for All Through Partnership”. It was launched in Fall 2007 with the basic aim of enhancing the quality of education for Palestinian children and contributing to the transmission of democratic values and human rights in the teaching process. In a series of workshops, public meetings and lectures, topics such as the participation of students in the learning process, dynamic teaching methods and teaching democracy and human values are addressed.

The team organizing the program is directed by Rizek Sleibi, and includes Faculty of Education teachers Dr. Sami Adwan, Hiam Alawi, Omar Mousa and Huda Musleh. The project receives the generous support of the Spanish Government through the Fundación Promoción Social de la Cultura ( FPSC).

Bethlehem University is the main institution to provide schools in the area with teaching personnel. It trains both classroom teachers who teach at elementary schools as well as subject area teachers who teach Arabic, English, History and Geography at secondary schools. Furthermore, the Faculty of Education offers a teaching diploma for students who already have a bachelors degree in Math, Arabic, English, Science, History or Geography.