Project Summary

Initiated in February 2015, with a budget of just over USD 21 million from Qatar Fund for Development through Al Fakhoora - a programme of Education Above All Foundation, the Right to Education programme aims to ensure increased resilience and improved wellbeing of Palestinian children and youth through the reconstruction and rehabilitation of educational facilities that were damaged and destroyed during the 2014 hostilities on Gaza, increase the capacity for mental health care in Gaza and restore the hope of youth for increased prospects of employment through e-work.

The programme targets 50 educational institutions including the rebuilding of totally damaged schools, rehabilitation of partially damaged universities, schools and vocational training centres. Through the programme, over 99,114 students will have access quality education in an inclusive and child-friendly learning environment. Innovation is capitalized in implementation through introducing elements of child friendly schools, provision of multi-purpose halls to serve as emergency shelters during crisis, installing sustainable green energy source (PV cells) to address electricity cuts and sustainable WASH (water and sanitation) facilities. As a core principle for resilient recovery, the reconstruction of schools was inspired by the principles of Building Back Better (BBB) through mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into longer-term sustainable development to reduce the vulnerability of communities. Programme Outcomes include:

Outcome 1: Adequate learning environment provided through decreasing class overcrowding by reconstructing completely destroyed schools, adding new classrooms to the existing buildings, and rehabilitating private schools
Outcome 2: Building back better adopted in reconstruction/rehabilitation process promoting preservation of environment and enhancement to accessibility to essential services
Outcome 3: Accessibility to vocational and higher education enhanced through reconstruction of damaged university buildings and developing these facilities
Outcome 4: Mental health wellbeing enhanced for students and their parents through better mental health care and better prospects for a brighter future

Accomplishments and Progress

• Rehabilitation and reconstruction of 50 educational institutions completed (04 totally damaged schools, 15 school extensions, 13 private schools, 10 higher education institutions, and 05 training centres in addition to 3 schools with multi-purpose halls).
• Improved the learning environment and decreased the overcrowding rate in public schools for 23,361 students (12,232 girls and 11,129 boys).
• Decreased percentage of schools operating on double shifts from 66.8% in 2014 to 58.4% in 2017-2018, according to MoEHE annual reports 2017.
• Recovery and rehabilitation works of ten Higher Educational Institutions benefited 73,560 students (35,823 males and 37,737 females).
• Green renewable energy was widely mainstreamed at 25 public schools, in addition to 517 energy efficient classrooms, through the provision of PV solar systems of 424 Kw capacity in addition to three higher education institutions, overcoming the chronic electricity crisis in Gaza.
• Provision of eight multi-purpose halls that serve as emergency shelters, prepared with elements of safety and security, and eco-sustainable infrastructure, and access to renewable energy and clean water supplies (5 water wells, small desalination plants and rehabilitation of 212 toilets).
• A large scale specialized mental health interventions targeted 642 mental health professionals of the national mental health service providers including MoEHE, MoH and higher education institutions. Additionally, 7,782 school students (4,022 girls, 3,760 boys) benefited from specialized mental health interventions at targeted schools.
• 208 youth targeted in the E-work component for economic empowerment through specialized ICT training including Web, Design, Mobile and Game Development. In phase II, 92 youth received intensive coaching and were successfully engaged on different online freelancing platforms, obtaining 834 jobs and earning USD 99,369 in three months.