The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has given the campaign on the new Palestinian curricula a special attention by issuing two clarifications explaining its stand. Many of the international representatives in the PA areas have received such clarifications. Also, most of the Palestinian representatives including the Director General of the Palestinian Curricula Development Center, because of the Israeli military blockades and sieges on the Palestinian towns, could not attend a seminar on the Israeli – Palestinian school textbooks held from 8 till 10 Dec 2002 at George-Eckert Institute/Germany, to present the Palestinian point of view.

This fact paper represents an opportunity to shed some light on the debate:

• The Palestinian people are engaged in a serious and dedicated effort to restructure their educational system by replacing, as one mean, the Jordanian and Egyptian curricula used in the West Bank and Gaza respectively, by a new, unified Curricula that reflects their hopes and aspirations. The plan devised was ratified by both the Palestinian Cabinet and Legislative Council in 1998. This plan is also perceived as an opportunity for content, scientific and pedagogical development for the Palestinian Educational system. Since its inception, PCDC (Palestinian Curricula development center) committed itself to involve a broad base of local academicians, educators and teachers in a democratic process to develop national curricula capable of bringing about a genuine transformation in the different developmental aspects of the Palestinian people. The innovative aspect of this project is multifaceted: it includes subjects like Technology, Health, Environment, Civic Education, English from first grade, Christian Education, Vocational Education and issues like gender, democracy, children, and human rights. Beside portraying a national identity and legitimizing its National Authority, the curricula are tracing the cultural development of the Palestinian people throughout history and celebrating its livelihood aiming at empowering a nation which missed developmental opportunities as a result of occupation.

• Realizing the political era complexities, after planning the project to be implemented post Oslo interim period, PCDC adopted an approach which ignores the animosity, and tension to give better chances to develop peaceful context in the region. Politically, the Curricula remain to be a tentative and a transitional attempt to account for the political complexities of this political Juncture. However, the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education agreed to a UNESCO project , discussed at UNESCO Executive board 161, in June 2001, to look into both the Israeli and Palestinian curricula Issue, and it was intended to start in August 2002.

• Some of the Israeli leading institutions on the Palestinian curricula issue aim at discrediting the Palestinian Authority and may be worried more about the fact that the curricula being not racist more than racist. Nathan Brown, a distinguished international researcher on curricula who has researched the Palestinian curricula, in a paper titled, THE INTERNATIONAL CONTROVERSY REGARDING PALESTINIAN TEXTBOOKS, delivered at the above mentioned German Seminar, explained the fact that the Palestinian curricula are an arena of conflict rather than a source of conflict and that the campaign aims at discrediting the Palestinian Authority.

• The international community should not underestimate the difficulty and sensitivity of producing national curricula for a nation still suffering from a brutal occupation. The curricula problems: stereotyping, racism, bigotry and alike do not exist. However, the curricula promote national aspirations and condemn occupation practices. Many international reports and researches about the Palestinian curricula describe them as abiding by international criteria and standards. None of them came to a conclusion of any problems, which require any immediate revisions or modifications.

• The EU statement issued (2002) has came to a conclusion that the Palestinian curricula is free from racist remarks and that all allegations against it are unfounded.

Should you need more information of research document about the Palestinian School textbook, please contact:

PCDC: E-mail:pcdc@palnet.com
Tel: 02-2406174

D.G. for International and Public Relations
Tel: 02-2983254
E-mail: MoE@palnet.com