Ref: 28/2013

On Thursday, 19 April 2013, the
Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) along with other
human rights organizations including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
(PCHR), al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights and al-Dameer Association for Human
Rights organized a conference on“Education
Law 1/2013 from Human Rights’ Perspective”in Gaza City.  Over 200 people participated in the
conference, including Palestinian academicians; educational experts;
representatives of the governmental educational sector;representatives of UNRWA
educational sector; representatives of the private educational sector;and
representatives of students’ parents and community-based organizations.

Mr. KhalilShaheen, Director of
PCHR’s Economic and Social Rights Unit, welcomed the participants and requested
to commence discussions on the new law. 
He also called for adopting measures that promote Palestinians’ right to
education,lay the foundations for an educational process, which is based on
equality and in conformity with the Palestinian Authority’s Basic Law and
international human rights standards.

Lawyer RajiSourani, Director of
PCHR, pointed that this conference was held in the context of partnership
between human right organizations and PNGO in the Gaza Strip and the follow-up
of updates relevant to enacting laws under the political split between the Gaza
Strip and West Bank.  Sourani added that
human rights organizations were shocked by the enactment of the new education
law that reinforces the political split, undermines the unity of academic
curricula in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and poses a threat to the future of
educational process, which remained unaffected by the political conflict for
years.

Mr. Mohsen Abu Ramadan, Chairman of
PNGO in Gaza, called for the protection of the Palestinian Basic Law, which
forms a reference to the parliamentarian blocs. 
He explained that a human being is the core of the Palestinian community
and should enjoy an educational system capable of the improving oneself and the
whole community.  Abu Ramadan requested
to not impose a limited vision on a community of multiple visions.

Mr. Khalil Abu Shammala, Director of
al-Dameer Association for Human Rights, denounced the criticism against human
rights organizations in the Gaza Strip, because such organizations work for the
protection of private rights and freedoms. 
He also criticized the absence of political and societal powers from a
conference that aims at the discussion of one of the most important laws
relevant to the welfare of Palestinians.

The conference was divided into two
sessions.  Dr. Mohammed Ayoub, a writer
and researcher, facilitated the first session titled “Education Law 1/2013 and
the Educational Sector”.  In his
presentation titled “Education Law 1/2013: Motives and Prospects”,
Dr. WalidMezher, Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Education in Gaza, addressed
the rationale of enacting the law.  He
mentioned that the education law keeps pace with latest updates and fits all
the educational grades.  Moreover, this
law was made by Palestinians and prevents normalization with the Israeli
occupation.  Dr. Mezher indicated that
the separation between the two sexes after the age of 9, according to the new
law, reflected a reality that has been practiced in the Gaza Strip’s school for
years.

In his presentation on “Impact
of Education Law 1/2013 on Private Educational Sector”, Dr.
TayseerNashwan, Assistant Professor of Curricula and Methodology at al-Aqsa
University, showed statistics relevant to the private schools in the Gaza
Strip.  He explained that these schools
are divided into two types: schools of charitable associations that offer
services for nominal fees, andschools offering services for expensive
fees.  Dr. Nashwan believed that the new
education law would directly affect the second type of schools, and expressed his
concern over the contradiction of the cultural and ideological diversity in the
community that would result from the enforcement of the new law.

Mr. Amjad al-Shawa, Director of PNGO
in Gaza, facilitated the second session titled “Education Law 1/2013 from
Educational and Human Rights’ Perspective.”  In his presentation of the community-based
organizations’ perspective on the Education Law 1/2013,Dr. Adnan al-Hajjar,
coordinator of Technical Aid and Advocacy Unit at al-Mezan Centre for Human
Rights, addressed the legal intricacies concerning the circumstances of
enacting the law.  He pointed that
enacting this law, in its recent form, enhances the political split between the
Gaza Strip and West Bank, explaining that it is necessary, in case of issuing
any law, to call the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) to hold its sessions
with full-member attendance instead of one side adoption and issuance of the
law.  Dr. al-Hajjar also criticizedthe
new legal provisions and called for reconsidering them as they are unclear and
contradictother legalprovisions.

Dr. Bassam Abu Hashish, Assistant
Professor at the Faculty of Education at Al-Aqsa University, presented a critique
of the Education Law, in which he pointed out that most of the provisions
contained in the new education law are positive, and some of them sparkled
societal controversy and needed to be discussed and reconsidered through an
expanded educational-societal meeting with the related parties.

Ms. Fatin al-Bayoumi, representative
of Women’s Affairs Technical Community (WATC), made a presentation titled,
“Gender and the Education law 1/2013”.  She
criticized the education law as its texts contain distinctions,which violate
the Palestinian Basic Law, as well as the Palestinian Declaration of
Independence and international human rights standards.She emphasized on
equality and gender justice.  She also
pointed that the concerned law is biased in manyprovisionsto males, including
provisions 46 and 47, which institutionalize gender separation and stereotypethe
roles of women and men.

At the end of the conference,
KhalilShahin summarized the recommendations; most notably:

· Calling upon the government in Gaza to annul the Education Law No1/2013
for the fear of deepening the Palestinian political split;

· Calling upon the Change and Reform Bloc in the PLC to stop issuing new
legislations; and that the President should stop issuing decisions that have
the power of law, as this establishes two different legal systems in both Gaza
and the West Bank;

· Reconsidering all legislations issued during the political split,
and freezing them until PLC with all its bodies convene;

· Forming an advisory committee to reconsider the legal and
linguistic structure of the law;

· Reconsidering the philosophical subjects previously omitted from
the Palestinian curriculum;

· Any Palestinian government must fulfill its legal responsibilities when
establishing kindergartens and supervise them according to the educational
standards, as these kindergartens are part of the primary education stages;

· Deepening the practice of human rights education, including raising
students on the rights of citizenship, and promoting concepts of understanding,
tolerance and friendship among all nations;

· Guaranteeing that education should be a fundamental right for everybody
on the basis of equality and non-discrimination based on sex, political
opinion, or other forms of discrimination;

· Protecting students’ rights in the educational facilities,
including the abolition of everything that contradicts with the principle of
free education under different names of voluntary or school donations;

· Preparing comparative studies between the new education law and
education laws on international and regional levels;

· Forming a special committee to approve the minimum wage in the
education field, including private schools and kindergartens;

· Keeping education aside from the Palestinian political conflict;

· Reconsidering many of the new education provisions, including
feminizing education in line with the unity of Palestinian community on the
basis of equality in the enjoyment of rights; and

· Furtheringthe role of students’ parents or guardians by motivating
them to participate in decisions relating to the education law on the
governmental and legislative level.