• Workshop on the Right to Education in the Gaza Strip:
Theme: The Right to Education, Standards and Outcomes
Place/Date: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Jabalia, April 28, 2004 (4.5 hours)
Target Group (s): The Ministry of Education, UNRWA, teachers, educational supervisors, parents, experts, academics, interested refugees.
Objective: To explore educational inputs and outcome in the Gaza Strip in comparison with the standards of the right to education , in a view to reach specific recommendations and send them to decision-makers.
Speaker (s):
• Dr. Izzu Afana, Educational Expert;
• Mr. Yaqoub Hijju, the Ministry of Education;
• Mr. Mahmoud Al Himdiyat, UNRWA;
• Lawyer Adnan Al Hajjar, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.
Content: Status of in the Gaza Strip; educational outcomes; obstacles facing education; standards of the right to education; availability vs. quality; teachers' training; pre-service and in-service; policies of the Ministry and UNRWA.

Outcomes/Recommendations:
• The participants appraised the efforts of both the Ministry of Education (MOE) and UNRWA to keep the educational system operating during times of crisis and requested them to focus on improving the quality of Palestinian education.
• There is still a significant percentage of illiteracy, which should be tackled.
• The new Palestinian curriculum needs to be reviewed in light of an evaluation by teachers, parents, students as well as experts.
• There is a need for closer cooperation and co-ordination between the MOE, UNRWA and research centers at the local universities. The recommendations of researchers should be taken into account more seriously.
• There is a need for better coordination between the MOE and UNRWA, and universities that have under-graduate programs on teaching.
• The testing and evaluation processes at schools need to be reviewed. The automatic promotion of weak students has been widely criticized and should cease.
• The process of improving the Palestinian educational system should benefit from the contemporary trends in the domain of education, especially the quality assessment approach.

Follow up: Al Mezan Training and Mass Communication Unit advertised the issue in the local media, sent recommendations to the Ministry, UNRWA and the PLC, and produced a booklet with the proceedings of the workshop. 1,000 copies of the booklet will be distributed throughout the Gaza Strip.
Evaluation: evaluation forms, as well as the oral evaluation, showed that participants were satisfied with the theme of the workshop, it’s relevance to the community needs, the choice of key speakers, and the preparation by the Center. They highlighted the need for effective follow up of the workshop, and to build on its outcomes in the future.