UNRWA

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Education is UNRWA’s largest programme, accounting for more than half of the Agency’s regular budget. The Agency operates one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, with nearly 700 schools, and has been the main provider of free basic education to Palestine refugees for over 60 years.  UNRWA is committed to fostering the human development of Palestine refugees by helping them to acquire knowledge and skills, lead long and healthy lives, achieve decent standards of living, and enjoy human rights to the fullest possible extent.

One of UNRWA’s main goals is to help Palestinian children and youth gain appropriate knowledge and skills by providing universal primary education. High-quality basic education provides young Palestine refugees with an understanding of their place in the world and a common set of key values including dignity, tolerance, cultural identity, gender equality and human rights.

EAC and UNRWA’s partnership built on their shared interest in the education of Palestinian refugee children. Ultimately, by working together to accelerate the provision of quality education, EAC and UNRWA reached 66,969 primary-level out of school children across Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.