A fundamental human right is education for all; however, the definition of what type of education everyone should receive is not clearly defined. More often than not, children who are vulnerable and marginalized are the children who lack an education or lack a quality education. Quite often, refugee children are the ones who suffer from attaining a quality education due to many factors that hinder them from attending school, receiving an education in their native language or having the resources to move forward in their academic career. A quality education is more than performing well on assessments, it is more than having textbooks for all students; it is about empowerment, rebuilding lives, promoting peace, and achieving economic development for these refugee children. Do large class sizes, double shifts, shortage of teachers, limited resources negatively affect a refugee child’s quality of education? Or is the fact that these children are actually receiving an education better than a great deal of the educational systems throughout the world?
According to the UNHCR, only 30% of refugee children receive an education worldwide. While the fact that this conflict with the Palestinians has existed for so long is highly complex, something that is different than other refugee camps throughout the world is that services like education, health, and social services are well established. However, after meeting with Matar from UNRWA, it was uplifting to realize that this statistic is not the case with the Palestinian refugees in Jordan. It was apparent that education was at the forefront of UNRWA’s focus since Matar mentioned that the highest percentage of their budget goes towards education. However, does spending a lot of money on education correlate with a quality education? While only 18% of Palestinians currently live in refugee camps in Jordan, it is important to look at the services they are receiving, especially education.
Since UNRWA is responsible for providing all primary schools to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, the question of if these children are actually receiving a quality education continued to be a question in my mind during my time in Jordan and once returning back home. Throughout our meetings with representatives from several refugee camps in Jordan, organizations like UNHCR, UNRWA, and from reading through several statistics, articles, and books, I have begun to see a pattern in the educational system in these Palestinian refugee camps. With the thirteen Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, there is a lack of teachers, double-shift teaching system, overcrowded classrooms, and insufficient school equipment. Three of these issues are common themes among many schools in areas throughout the world that are dealing with complex issues. While it is difficult to truly understand what the reason for having a lack of teachers could be, there are often similar themes as to why teachers are not drawn to teaching in areas like these refugee camps. When I first read the statistic that an average class size was 38 students, it overwhelmed me. How can a teacher effectively teach 38 students in a four-hour period? Each student has approximately six minutes of individualized education per day. However, I then remembered that in Chicago; one of the largest cities in the United States has approximately the same statistic, except for the fact these Chicago Public Schools provide eight hours per day of school verse four hours. Has educating children in masses become the norm? Is this necessarily a negative aspect in education? Since the quality of education is so subjective, I have been able to go beyond my initial negative feeling of overcrowded classrooms and am grateful that these schools are heading in the right direction to providing education for all. It does not mean that there is not a great deal of improvement needed for decreasing classroom size and spending more individual time with these children.
According to the Department of Palestinian Affairs, 92% of children who attend schools run by UNRWA are going to school on a double-shift system. This means that they are receiving less than four hours of school a day. While the quantity of education does not equate with the quality of education, this issue that schools have been forced into creating a double-shift because of a lack of teachers and schools is something that has been difficult to grasp. Several times, we were told that the students in these UNRWA run schools are receiving an education based upon Jordanian curriculum. However, Jordanian schools typically have school for an entire day of 8 hours. How is it possible that these refugee children are attaining these same objectives of the host country when they are receiving half of the education? Are the teachers going through the curriculum as fast they can just so they can meet the standards? Are the students truly gaining the same knowledge as their Jordanian peers? I applaud UNRWA for providing the opportunity for these refugee children to have an education, which they may have otherwise not had the opportunity for. However, I do wonder what else can be done to provide these students with the complete education they deserve.
In terms of the curriculum, these UNRWA follow the same curriculum that government schools follow. It seemed as if the refugees in these camps have stayed in these camps for so long because they are hopeful that they will return to their homeland. However, I wonder how these children will be affected. Often in many cases of children of refugees, they only know what their parents tell them about their homeland. These beliefs and values get passed down for generations. Since these refugee children are immersed into Jordanian culture by being educated with a Jordanian curriculum, do they relate more to Jordanian culture and values? Are these children able to relate to their traditional Palestinian beliefs and culture?
While we did not have the opportunity to visit schools in these camps because of the summer vacation, I was still able to gain a basic understanding as to how the educational system in these camps is facilitated. While there is no clear way to assess whether these children are receiving a quality education, the fact that UNRWA continues to strive towards creating and maintaining an educational system in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan is a step in the right direction. These camps are on the path towards providing these children with empowerment, promoting peace, rebuilding their lives, and achieving economic development.
Photo Credit: Diana Hochman
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