Palestinians in general, face attempts by the Israeli occupation to “Israelize” the curriculum in Jerusalem and to stifle the Palestinian national identity, through various measures. This is amid scarce financial resources, substandard buildings, and largely unsuitable educational facilities, in addition to the multitude of references associated with education in Jerusalem.
This factsheet focuses on the status of education in the city in terms of student and school distribution and approved curriculum, with a focus on the right of girls to education.
Facts and figures:
- Based on findings by the Jerusalem Affairs Unit for 2018-2019, 59.2% of all schools are overseen by the Palestinian Ministry of Education in East Jerusalem and suburbs under Israeli jurisdiction. In contrast, 40.8% of schools are overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the illegal [Israeli] Jerusalem municipality.
- There is a shortage of 3,794 classrooms in Jerusalem (Palestinian and Israeli schools) including 2,100 in Palestinian schools alone, or 55.3%.
- The distribution of schools under the supervision of the Palestinian Ministry of Education is as follows: 35.3% private schools, 21.4% Islamic Waqf schools, and 2.5% UNRWA- run schools. Meanwhile, 9.7% of schools are run by the Israeli Education Ministry and illegal municipality, recognized as contacted ‘semi-government” schools and 31.1% are directly under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Education Ministry and illegal municipality, according to 2020-2021 data.
| Reference |
Number of schools/Number of students |
| Waqf-run Schools |
51 girls and boys schools/ 10,851 students |
| Private Schools |
84 girls and boys schools/33,684 students |
| UNRWA-run schools |
6 girls and boys schools/1,953 students |
| Schools under direct Israeli supervision |
74 girls and boys schools/40,573 students |
| Contracted schools: schools owned and run by individuals on behalf of the Israeli Education Ministry and illegal Municipality |
23 girls and boys schools/2,734 students |
Palestinian students in occupied Jerusalem in general, suffer from repeated attacks by Israeli occupation authorities, resulting in lost classes, especially in the morning.
| Indicator |
Percentage |
| Average area for students in Jerusalem |
0.5-0.9 m2 per student |
| Increase rate of students per school year |
5-8% |
| Number of female school drop-outs in 2019-2020 school year |
305 students |
| Number of attacks by Israeli occupation forces on Waqf schools alone in the 2017-2018 school year |
483 attacks |
| Number of classes wasted in 2017-2018 in Waqf schools alone |
2,016 morning classes |
| Percentage of students who pass daily through military checkpoints into Jerusalem |
20% |
| Percentage of (male and female) students who use public transportation to reach their schools in Jerusalem |
65% |
Interviews with students, experts and parents:
Interviews were individually conducted with 20 students and 10 students in a focus group. The individual interviews were intentional in that the researcher approached students who were subjected to one form of harassment. However, during the interviews, it became apparent that most of the girls had been subjected to more than one form of harassment. The interviews also included 17 involved individuals: six school principals, two counselors, three experts (one male and two female) and six parents (two men and four women).
Interview results:
- Unfriendly-environment schools for students…the role of the racist, separation wall in hampering and disrupting the educational process in Jerusalem
| Subject |
Students |
Percentage |
Experts and parents |
Percentage |
| Unfriendly-environment schools for students |
22 |
73.33% |
13 |
76.47% |
| Racist separation wall hampering and disrupting the educational process |
29 |
96.66% |
17 |
100% |
- Harassment of Jerusalemite students on their way to school
| Subject |
Students |
Percentage |
Experts and parents |
Percentage |
| Harassment at military checkpoints |
16 |
53.33% |
12 |
70.58% |
| Harassment on crowded public transportation |
20 |
66.66% |
11 |
64.70% |
| Harassment by soldiers in the Old City streets |
7 |
23.33% |
5 |
29.41% |
| Various forms of harassment at military checkpoints or in streets by soldiers or settlers |
15 |
50.00% |
14 |
82.35% |
To View the Full Factsheet as PDF
The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the study lies entirely with MIFTAH
