Hamas cancels school uniform

Some 548,000 pupils in West Bank, 250,000 in Gaza return to school Sunday; due to shortage of clothes, Gaza government annuls school uniform obligation, cancels registration fee
Ali Waked

The new school year in the Palestinian Authority opened Sunday morning on the backdrop of the rift between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Fatah movement in the West Bank, despite the factions' declaration that the education system would not be dragged into the Palestinian political infighting.

 

Some 548,000 pupils began the year in the West Bank, while 250,000 children returned to school in the Gaza Strip. More than 65,000 teachers and staff members also began the school year.

 

In Gaza, some of the teachers and principals boycotted the new school year following a demand voiced by the Palestinian teachers' organization in Ramallah, which decided to go on strike in protest of "the oppression measures taken by the Hamas government against teachers and workers at the Palestinian education ministry."

 

The Palestinian teachers' organization claims that the Hamas government fired teachers and workers affiliated with Fatah and Hamas' rival factions.

 

The Hamas education ministry warned in response that "harsh disciplinary measures will be taken against those who disrupt the opening of the school year."

 

'Bonuses'

Hamas is attempting to man the posts of the teachers and principals who chose to join the strike, but so far there have been no reports on clashes or disruptions to the school year.

 

Sources in Fatah claimed that in several places Hamas security officers tried to prevent the strike and the students' return home, but these reports have not been confirmed by other sources in the Strip.

 

In a bid to deal with the economic distress and shortage of clothes as a result of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government announced that it would cancel the obligation to wear a school uniform and allow students to attend school in whatever clothing they choose to wear.

 

Another "bonus" given to the Strip's residents was the decision to cancel the public schools' registration fees, which ranged between NIS 40-70 (about $11.5-20).

 

In addition to the Strip's public schools, there are hundreds of schools belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), to churches and private bodies. The school year in the UNWRA institutes will open on September 1, like in the Israeli education system.