Ensuring safe and equitable access to education for all Palestinian children is a major goal of the education sector. In previous years, Palestine made remarkable progress in improving access to education – especially in the lower grade levels. In spite of this, there are still severe access challenges in some areas of the Palestinian Territory, due to a lack of schools or classroom shortage. This results often in overcrowded classrooms or unsuitable learning environments which negatively impacts on the quality of teaching and learning.  

Since 2005, Belgium supports the Palestinian education system in overcoming these difficulties through the rehabilitation of schools and by building new schools. One of the instruments is the Joint Financing Arrangement – a basket fund to support the implementation of the Education Sector Plan in the Palestinian Territory. The fund is supported by Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Norway.

On 23 May 2016, the Minister of Education, Dr. Sabri Saidam, and Consul-General of Belgium, Bruno Jans inaugurated the secondary school for girls in Far’oun. The construction of this new school in the eastern part of the West Bank was supported by the JFA and was completed last year. The school is now fully operational, and hosts more than 250 girls from six different grades. Thanks to this newly built school the pressure on the educational system in the Far’oun village has decreased considerably and allows the students to follow classes in a more stimulating learning environment.