World Bank: US$20 Million for the Palestinian Education Sector
Palestinian children can, on average, expect to complete 12.2 years of schooling; however, they are only learning the equivalent of eight years.
Jerusalem24 – Despite high enrollment rates in primary and secondary school, poor quality of education services is holding back human capital development in West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian children can, on average, expect to complete 12.2 years of schooling; however, they are only learning the equivalent of eight years.
In response to these findings, the World Bank approved its first Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA) in the education sector globally, in support of an eight-year program that addresses key educational challenges in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
With the approved US$20 million from an expected overall envelope of US$60 million, the “Supporting an Education Reform Agenda for improving Teaching, Assessment and Career Pathways” Program (SERATAC, which means your life journey or pathway in Arabic) aims at improving education outcomes of primary and secondary students and increase student pathways leading to tertiary education.
SERATAC aims to tackle the root causes of poor quality education through a long-term, systemic approach.
World Bank Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza, Kanthan Shankar says that “through this progressive education reform agenda, we share the common goal with the Palestinian Authority to develop and unlock the full potential of its human capital.”
The SERATAC program will support the Ministry of Education to gradually reform the secondary school leaving examination (Tawjihi) and create a more inclusive pathway to tertiary education, including technical-vocational colleges.
The World Bank Program Leader for Human Development and co-Task Team Leader, Samira Ahmed Hillis says that, “the West Bank and Gaza will be able to construct comparable trends in Palestinian student learning outcomes over time, that continuously inform policymaking and provide essential information on which to base decisions regarding school and system improvement, focused on the central goal of student learning”
