It’s remarkable, the difference renovating a school can make. When you first ask the girls at the UNRWA Jalazone Girls’ School in the West Bank what they like about their new school, their comments include, “There are new desks, the old desks were rubbish.” But if you dig a little deeper, you uncover profound change, ranging from dramatically improved academic performance to happier family lives.
The two UNRWA schools in Jalazone refugee camp serve almost 600 boys and more than 1,000 girls. They are among the oldest UNRWA schools in the West Bank, and pre-renovation they were bitterly cold and wet in winter. They were also built at a time when the refugee population was far smaller; by the time renovations funded by the United States government began in 2011, the schools were bursting at the seams.
Overcrowding meant that the girls’ school operated a double shift system and that some students attended classes in the afternoons and evenings. “An important change with the new school is we no longer fear about the little girls travelling home in the dark. There is a safe environment for the kids to learn in,” school principal Sana Bayari explained.
Twelve-year-old Dunia agrees: “It was really suffering to go home after the evening class. It only took 10 minutes, so the problem wasn’t the time; the problem was the heavy rain or cold. It was frightening, especially when you had to go home after sunset.”
A generous donationof $1.7 million in from the United States government enabled UNRWA to renovate Jalazone Girls’ School and add 31 new classrooms, a laboratory, toilets, a handicrafts room, a playground and a canteen. The extra space has not only eliminated the double shift system, but also provided a more active and dynamic learning environment for the children to enjoy.The old school had no science labs, computer labs, library, or home economics rooms. The new one does. “Students now not only listen, but they can use all of their senses,” Ms. Bayari said. “The girls can now develop themselves further. My own daughter comes home and says to me ‘I feel proud that I did something on the computer today.’ It gives them more confidence.”
Arien, 14, is excited about the new facilities: “My parents took me out of the school because of the evening shift. The late finish meant I had no time to study and my education achievements were not as good. Now, with facilities like the computer lab and the home economics room where we have cooking lessons, it’s fun and interesting. It’s exciting.”
Limited time due to the double shift system had forced some classes to be cut from the curriculum. These classes have now been reintroduced, and include sports programming and other enrichment activities. As Jalazone Girls’ school student Maryamsaid, “I enjoy the art classes, which had also been cancelled. It’s so nice to have the space and time for art. It’s so much better than the rush rush rush to finish the curriculum.”
Teachers say that the students study better in the morning, too.Elementary teacher Hana Mater said students in the evening shift had often used all their energy in the morning. “Imagine starting school at 12pm, half the day is gone. Some students would come tired and couldn’t focus. Therefore, they would get low grades. In winter, there was a high rate of absences because families don’t want to send their daughters to school because of bad weather, or fear of them coming home in the dark. They didn’t feel safe, especially the first and second graders. Sometimes, 15 out of my 35 students would be absent. This past winter, with the new school, there were zero absences.”
The improved learning environment is having tangible effects. In annual Arabic exams conducted by the Ministry of Education, the girls at Jalazone school scored a 90 percent success rate in the most recent school year, compared to just 20-30 percent the previous year, before the new school opened. Ms. Bayari credits this success on the improved learning environment, plus new remedial classes, which have been made possible by the availability of new classrooms. Other benefits include decreased violence between students, which the teachers credit to the happier learning environment. And, importantly, not a single student has dropped out of school since the new school opened.