UNRWA Education 2030: Baseline Report – occupied Palestinian territory

Executive Summary

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency mandated by the UN General Assembly (UNGA), since 1949,which provides assistance and protection for Palestine Refugees within its five Fields of operation: Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. UNRWA services for Palestine Refugees include primary and vocational education, primary health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance, and emergency response.

Introduction

UNRWA is unique in that it is a United Nations agency and the primary direct education provider for Palestine Refugees within its five Fields of operation. The Agency operates one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, providing free basic education to over half a million Palestine refugee children and youth in its five fields of operation, as well as secondary schooling for Palestine Refugees in Lebanon. The Agency provides postsecondary education for approximately 10,000 Palestine Refugees across the region through its eight Vocational Training Centres and two teacher training institutes located in the West Bank and Jordan.

Mapping UNRWA’s Education Targets to SDG4

The report highlights the Agency’s successes and challenges in relation to the Education 2030 Agenda, based on the SDG4 indicators. UNRWA’s education targets and indicators are mapped against those of SDG4, and then the Agency’s performance is assessed against each of these ten targets (7+3). Where possible, contrast is provided between Agencywide achievements and those within UNRWA’s five Fields of operation. Where data is available, UNRWA’s educational achievements are contrasted with regional and global benchmarks.

UNRWA’s Education System

Unique amongst United Nations agencies mandated by the UN General Assembly (UNGA), UNRWA is a direct provider of education for refugees. In terms of a single agency managed system, UNRWA operates one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, and education is the largest of UNRWA’s programs, both in terms of staff engaged (70 per cent of total Agency staff) and budgetary allocation (59 per cent of the total regular budget). Moreover, the vast majority of UNRWA’s 20,000 educational staff (including nearly 17,000 fulltime teachers, 2000 daily paid teachers and 500 vocational training instructors) are Palestine Refugees themselves.

UNRWA’s Vision and Achievements

The vision of UNRWA’s education system is to foster human capital and enable Palestine Refugees to achieve their full potential under the difficult circumstances in which they live (MTS 2023-2028). Over seventy-five years, UNRWA has built a solid reputation for excellence in providing education that has been recognised as being equal to, if not better than, that of countries hosting Palestine Refugees. UNRWA has produced approximately 132,000 TVET graduates who have gone on to work in a variety of employment fields.

UNRWA’s Alignment with SDGs

UNRWA’s education program operates within a complex regional and global context. Whilst coordinating effectively with national governments hosting Palestine Refugees, the Agency also harmonizes with regional bodies and the global education community to provide quality education services for Palestine Refugees. Where possible, UNRWA has aligned the targets and indicators of its strategic plan 2023-2028 to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG4 – Quality Education.

Baseline Report and Progress

To date, UNRWA has not been a member of a dedicated forum where its achievements and lessons learned could be shared with the international community, nor has its data been well integrated into national systems or well included in regional and global reporting on the achievement of SDG4 targets. This baseline report is an opportunity for UNRWA to connect to the global monitoring of education and share its progress and challenges with the international community in relation to the achievement of the Education 2030 Agenda. The Agency’s education targets and indicators are mapped against SDG4, and its performance is assessed against each of the ten targets (7+3). Where possible, contrast is provided between the five Fields of operation so that Agencywide achievements do not overshadow discrepancies within the system. Again, where possible, a comparative analysis is made between UNRWA’s educational achievements and regional and global benchmarks as reported by UNESCO’s global education monitoring mechanisms (e.g. Global Education Monitoring Report), as well as other respected data sources. The report reveals that UNRWA has made substantial progress towards the achievement of some of the SDG4 targets.

SDG4 Targets and UNRWA’s Performance

Target 4.1: Universal primary and secondary education

• Despite the covid-19 pandemic, in 2022 the agency shows a survival rate to the end of basic education of nearly 96 per cent , and a cumulative drop out of 0.86 per cent at elementary and 2.83 per cent in preparatory.
• The results of the assessment of learning outcomes call for more effort to reverse the learning loss, a global trend that has been amplified by the pandemic: less than 30 per cent of grade 4 and 8 students achieved minimum proficiency in Arabic and, 22 per cent in grade 4 and 16 per cent in grade 8 achieved the minimum proficiency in mathematics.

Target 4.2: Access to quality early childhood development, care and pre‑primary education

• UNRWA does not provide early childhood education.

Target 4.3: Equal access to technical/vocational and higher education

• UNRWA operates 8 vocational training centres and two faculties of education (teachers training institutions). In 2022/23, 7811 refugees were being trained in the VTCs (45 per cent are women) and 2051 in the teacher training institutes.

Target 4.4: Relevant skills for decent work

• In 2022, the employment rate for graduates from VTCs was 79 per cent and of 88 per cent from the faculties.

Target 4.5: Gender equality and inclusion

• In 2022, UNRWA nearly achieved gender parity in relation to completion rate for basic education (94 per cent for males and 97 per cent for females).
• However, less than 60 per cent of students identified with disability received support meeting their specific needs (58.6 per cent for females
  

  SDGs, Targets, and Indicators in the Article

  SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article:

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article specifically mentions that UNRWA has aligned its targets and indicators with SDG4, which focuses on quality education. The report highlights the Agency’s successes and challenges in relation to the Education 2030 Agenda, based on the SDG4 indicators.

  Specific Targets Under SDG4 Identified Based on the Article’s Content:

  1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
  2. Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
  3. Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
  4. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
  5. Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
  6. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
  7. Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
  8. Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
  9. Target 4.b: By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries.
  10. Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.

  The article mentions specific targets under SDG4 that are relevant to UNRWA’s education program. These targets include ensuring access to quality education at all levels, promoting gender equality and inclusion, providing relevant skills for employment, and creating safe and inclusive learning environments.

  Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article:

  • Survival rate to the end of basic education
  • Cumulative drop out rate
  • Assessment of learning outcomes
  • Employment rate for graduates from vocational training centers
  • Gender parity in completion rate for basic education
  • Support for students with disabilities
  • Proportion of schools operating on double or triple shift modality
  • Average class size
  • Availability of scholarships
  • Qualifications and training of teachers

  The article mentions or implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These indicators include survival rate, drop out rate, learning outcomes, employment rate, gender parity, support for students with disabilities, school operating modalities, class size, availability of scholarships, and qualifications/training of teachers.

  Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  SDGs	Targets	Indicators
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.	– Survival rate to the end of basic education – Cumulative drop out rate – Assessment of learning outcomes
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.	No indicator mentioned in the article.
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.	– Number of refugees trained in vocational training centers – Number of refugees trained in teacher training institutes
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.	– Employment rate for graduates from vocational training centers
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.	– Gender parity in completion rate for basic education – Support for students with disabilities
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.	No indicator mentioned in the article.
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