Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of attacks on schools by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank and the impact of such attacks on Palestinian children and their education.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have not made any assessment on this issue. The right to education is a basic right and every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. Last year, UK support contributed towards the salaries of approximately 33,000 public servants under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, including teachers, helping 25,000 young Palestinians to receive an education.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 211628, what assessment her Department has made of the PA Minister of Education's assertion on 22 January, as reported by al-Watan, that the minister stressed the ministry’s and all the Palestinian people’s rejection to the attack on the national Palestinian curriculum lead by the Zionist lobby.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is committed to working with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to ensure that the pilot Palestinian curriculum is consistent with the PA’s commitment to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to take action against incitement to violence. The UK will conduct an independent review into allegations of incitement in textbooks, with findings to be published by September 2019. I personally discussed the content of the pilot Palestinian curriculum with Palestinian Authority (PA) Education Minister Sabri Saidam earlier this year. Minister Saidam has committed to engage constructively with the findings of the textbook review, and to consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they taking, if any, in relation to the cancellation of permits for the operation of UNWRA-run schools for Palestinians in East Jerusalem and their replacement by schools operated by the municipality of Jerusalem.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK Officials have contacted UNRWA following media reports surrounding the future of UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem. UNRWA stated that they have not received any official indication that there will be any change to their operation in East Jerusalem.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2019 to Question 209284 on Palestinians: Schools, and with reference to the meeting between the Minister of State and the Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister for Education in the week beginning 21 January, what steps the PA Minister plans to take to address UK Government concerns on the Palestinian curriculum.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK Government is concerned by allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority (PA) curriculum, and Minister of State Alistair Burt raised these issues with the PA Minister for Education again, on 21 January 2019. The PA Minister confirmed that he was willing to take into account the findings of an expert textbook review. This review remains a priority for DFID and will be completed by September 2019.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2018 to Question 200063 on Palestinians: Schools, whether her Department has commissioned the study into the new Palestinian textbooks referred to in that answer.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it remains a priority for the Department for International Development (DFID) to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. I personally will be meeting with the PA’s Minister for Education to discuss these issues this week. Our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged. We will publish findings from the review by September 2019. The UK has been convening discussions with potential international partners on commissioning the review together, in order to increase the impact of the study. We will commission the review once we have concluded these discussions. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 171641 on Palestinians: Schools, whether her Department has commissioned the study into the new Palestinian textbooks.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it remains a priority for the Development for International Development (DFID) to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. We are also continuing to raise our concerns about incitement, which the Minister did himself at a meeting with the Palestinian Education Minister earlier this year. Last week, on 4th December, DFID officials met the PA Minister for Education and raised UK concerns over specific examples in the IMPACT-SE report.
Our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged. We will complete the review by September 2019. The UK has been convening discussions with potential international partners on commissioning the review together, in order to increase the impact of the study. We will commission the review in the new year once we have concluded these discussions. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations her Department has made to the Palestinian Ministry of Education on removing examples of incitement from school textbooks during the review of the school curriculum in the Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is currently in the planning phase of the textbook review. The review will enable us to identify if and where examples of incitement exist. We will take steps to address any concerns uncovered by the review as appropriate once it is complete.
In my last meeting with the Palestinian Minister of Education in May I challenged him on the need to prepare their population for peaceful coexistence.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the methodologies of the review of the Palestinian Authority's curriculum will include compliance with (a) Articles 1, 4.2 and 5 of the Declaration of principles on tolerance proclaimed and signed by the member states of UNESCO on 16 November 1995, (b) Principles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the UN Declaration on the promotion among youth of the ideals of peace, mutual respect and understanding between peoples, signed in 1965, and (c) Articles 9 and 18 of the integrated framework for action on education for peace, human rights and democracy, approved by the general conference of UNESCO at the 28th session in Paris in November 1995.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are in the process of commissioning the review and are considering the most robust methodology for conducting the textbook analysis. We will give consideration to relevant international agreements and previous high quality academic research when determining the final methodology. We will provide further detail on the methodology in due course.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the review of the Palestinian Authority's curriculum has been commissioned.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are in discussions with potential funding partners and research organisations and aim to commission the review as soon as possible, whilst ensuring value for money and a robust methodology. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the schools for Palestinian children operated by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees can continue their work throughout the coming academic year.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is committed to ensuring that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) continues to deliver a high-quality education to over 500,000 children across the region. The UK has announced £17 million of funding over the past four months, in addition to our original budget of £28.5 million, to protect UNRWA’s vital services, including education. We continue to work with international partners to help unlock further funding for UNRWA.