It is the amalgamation of political facts and daily routine that gives Palestinian literacy education its unique character. This record of literacy education is concerned with the modern era, starting with the twilight of Ottoman sovereignty, transitioning to the British Mandate, and finally under Israeli occupation.
According to Rashid Al-Khalidi, orality alone was adequate for everyday life under Ottoman rule hence the greater majority of the population was illiterate (Khalidi 46). Arab notables were considered “at the cutting edge of scholarship” and masters of the traditional Islamic sciences due to their command of the Arabic language (Khalidi 40). The importance of religion in the Ottoman Empire gave Arab notables an advantage that placed them at the upper echelons of society (Khalidi 40). According to Abd al-Latif Tibawi, by 1914 Palestine had 95 elementary schools and 3 secondary schools set up by the Ottoman government with a total of 234 teachers and 8248 students. Due to a higher demand for educational institutions there was a growth in the number of private schools; 369 private Muslim schools were set up with a total of 417 teachers and 8705 students (Tibawi 48-49). These figures represent a tiny minority of the population, at this time mass illiteracy was still prevalent.
Under the British mandate, Palestinian access to literacy education was divided along many lines for many reasons. First, social class was a determinant of the level of education one could access. Second, inhabitants of towns had much more access to quality education than those who lived in the villages. Third, men were given more access to education than women. Fourth, the minority of Christians wanting to gain a qualitative edge placed a greater emphasis on education than the majority of Muslims in the country. Lastly, the younger a person was, the better chance she or he had in gaining an education (Ayalon 40-42). According to Tibawi, in 1914, there were 595 schools, 955 teachers, and 20400 students. In 1920, when the British mandate officially took over, there were 425 schools, 950 teachers, and 30674 students. By 1940 there were 827 schools, 4056 teachers, and 124925 students. However, even with the remarkable increase of the educational institutions in Palestine, most people were still illiterate (Ayalon 40).
The year 1948 in terms of literacy education placed the Gaza strip under the Egyptian system and the West Bank under the Jordanian system. In 1967 the educational system was completed including twelve years of free and compulsory education. It wasn’t until 1994 following the Oslo Accords that educational responsibility was transferred to the newly established Palestinian Ministry of Education. This generated a rapid growth of the members in educational institutions. However, it was not without obstacles. The Israeli reaction included collective punishment, imprisoning of students and teachers, and the repeated closing of educational establishments (Nasser, Berlin, and Wong 4-5). The first Palestinian uprising in 1988 only made matters worst. Israeli authorities deported and detained, arbitrarily dismissed, restricted the freedom of movement, prohibited the use of alternative educational models, and turned school grounds into military installations. Worst of all Israeli efforts was the repeated mass closures of these institutions (Nasser, Berlin, and Wong 9). Trends became even worst with the second uprising of 2000. Of the members in the educational establishment: 844 were killed, 1594 were detained, and 4780 were injured (Nasser, Berlin, and Wong 12). Also, the damage to educational facilities in the first year of the intifada alone was 3 million USD (Nasser, Berlin, and Wong 13). However, despite the lack of access to literacy education, today Palestinians are officially the most literate population of North Africa and the Middle East with a 91% literacy rate (World Bank). One can conclude that the lack of access to literacy education only increases literacy rates due to the motivational challenge of occupation and resistance.
Going from the lowest rates of illiteracy in the Ottoman Empire, to the disproportional access to education under the British Mandate, to the most literate population of North Africa and the Middle East, one may conclude that as access to literacy education narrowed, literacy rates soared in the Palestinian Population of the modern era.
Works Cited
Ayalon, Ami. “Literacy and Education.” Reading Palestine: Printing and Literacy, 1900-1948. Austin: University of Texas, 2004. 16-42. Print.
Khalidi, Rashid Ismail. “Cultural Life and Identity in Late Ottoman Palestine: The Place of Jerusalem.” Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness. New York: Columbia UP, 1997. 35-62. Print.
Middle East and North Africa Human Development Group, comp. Impressive Achievements Under Harsh Conditions and the Way Forward to Consolidate a Quality Education System. Rep. no. 41043. World Bank Group, 2006. Print.
Mya, Guarnieri. “An Education in Inequality.” Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera, 13 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2010/10/2010101391321270946.html>.
Nasser, Ilham, Lawrence N. Berlin, and Shelley Wong. “Education.” Examining Education, Media, and Dialogue under Occupation: The Case of Palestine and Israel. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2011. 3-18. Print.
Rosenfeld, Maya. Confronting the Occupation: Work, Education, and Political Activism of Palestinian Families in a Refugee Camp. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2004. Print.
Rotberg, Robert I. Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History’s Double Helix. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2006. Print.
Småberg, Maria. Ambivalent Friendship: Anglican Conflict Handling and Education for Peace in Jerusalem, 1920-1948. Lund: Lund University, 2005. Print.
Tibawi, A. L. Anglo-Arab Relations and the Question of Palestine 1914-21. [S.l.]: Luzac, 1978. Print.
Two Schools in Nablus. Prod. Tom Evans and George Azar. Al-Jazeera, 2007. Al-Jazeera. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2009/01/20091412114846748.html>.