巴勒斯坦教育
巴勒斯坦教育指的是加沙及西岸地區的教育系统，由巴勒斯坦基础教育和高等教育部管理。相对于国际标准，巴勒斯坦的国民入学率已达到较高水平。根据2003年的调查显示，巴勒斯坦有六成的10至24岁人士享有教育优先权。其青少年识字率为92.2%，全国国民总体识字率則为91.1%。2007年，巴勒斯坦的高等教育入學率為46.2％，是世界上最高的國家之一。
巴勒斯坦的学校分為男子学校、女子学校及男女校，而教育亦分成三個層級，分別為「基礎義務教育」、「中等教育」及「高等教育」。基礎義務教育指一至十年級，其中的學前教育為一至四年級；中等教育指十一至十二年級，由中學及部分職業學校提供課程；高等教育包含11所大學（1所公立，10所私立）與11所科技學院（4所屬巴勒斯坦官方，2所屬（UNRWA），以及4所公立學校、1所私立學校），提供多為四年制的課程。除此之外，巴勒斯坦有19所社區學院，主要提供為期兩年的科學或商業文憑課程。
巴勒斯坦的第一所難民營學校於1949年成立，由紅十字國際委員會營運；而第一所屬於UNRWA的六年制小學則在1959年開始營運。UNRWA的學校只提供一年級至十年級的課程，不涵蓋中學教育。自1967年起，UNRWA在巴勒斯坦的教育中擔當著重要的角色。
根據巴勒斯坦的政策，即使一至三年級學生表現不佳，也不必留級。而四至十二年級學生的留級條件取決於全學年的平均分，當中每班的留級比率不多於5%。然而，學校不會為留級生提供額外的課程。
基礎教育和高等教育部（MOEHE）於1994年創立及運作，其設立目的為確保所有人可接受教育、改善教育質素及水平，以及為國民提供平衡和全面的發展。1996年，MOEHE拆分為兩個獨立的部門——基礎教育部及高等教育部，並在2002年再次合併成MOEHE。MOEHE負責管理巴勒斯坦的教育系統、招聘教師，並會與教育主管討論有關教師培訓的問題。另外，MOEHE也負責管理政府教育機構，並監督UNRWA或私人教育組織。巴勒斯坦教育的管理體系由22個教育主管組成。當中有16個來自西岸地區，6個來自加沙。
巴勒斯坦的財政部負責提出教育經費的預算。2003年，教育經費在政府總支出中大約佔兩成。除政府經費外，不少捐助國和國際組織也會為巴勒斯坦的教育提供資金。由於在教育方面的投資不足，巴勒斯坦的學習環境頗為擠迫和惡劣。不少學校沒有學費這一大收入來源，而且難以確保其有足夠物資，例如有特殊需要或遭受心理傷害的學生只能享有有限度的服務。此外，加沙和西岸地區的教育資源分配的問題在近年亦變得嚴重。
A formal sector plan was not developed until five years after the creation of the MOEHE but this does not mean that planning was ignored until then. A formal five-year plan was first discussed in 1998, and it took more than a year to prepare. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) provided technical assistance in developing the plan, and the MOEHE set up two working teams; one focused on policy and another worked the details. Five-Year Education Development Plan 2000-2005 had five goals: 1) to provide access to education for all children, 2) to improve the quality of education, 3) to develop formal and non-formal education, 4) to develop management capacity in planning, administration, finance, and 5) to develop human resources across the education system.
Education Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) 2008–2012 has four goals: 1) to increase access of school-aged children and students of all education levels and improve the ability of the education system to retain them (Access), 2) to improve the quality of teaching and learning (Quality), 3) to develop the capacity for planning and management and to improve the financial and management systems used (Management), and 4) to realize a gradual conversion of the higher education sector from a supply-oriented to a demand-oriented sector, which will gradually guarantee more compatibility between higher education outputs and labor market(s) need from qualitatively and quantitatively (Relevance). Goal 1 to 3 is for pre-school, general, non-formal, higher education, and vocational education, and Goal 4 is only for higher education and vocational education.
巴勒斯坦的學前教育對象為小童，小童通常會於4歲至6歲時接受學前教育。巴勒斯坦的學前教育入學率接近三成，當地約有898所私立幼稚園，其中只有3所由巴勒斯坦當局運營。雖然大多數的幼稚園為私立，但MOEHE會提供技術、許可證及資金，並協助督導教育及培訓教師。
在2005-2006學年，共有383,748個學生入學，屬於「預備階段」。當中有195,618人為男性，188,130為女性。在這些學生當中，238,000人就讀巴勒斯坦當局所運營的學校，109,419人就讀UNRWA的學校，35,829人就讀私立學校。
預備階段的總入學率為80.4%，而男童及女童的入學率皆為80.4%。
一至四年級的教育沒有筆試和分數上的分級，教師會通過總結性評估、觀察等途徑判斷學生是否有進步及可畢業。
在2005-2006學年，巴勒斯坦共有569,873學生屬於「正式階段」，其中男性佔296,247，女性佔283,626。當中有70%的學生就讀巴勒斯坦當局運營的學校，25%就讀UNRWA的學校，5%就讀私立學校。
正式階段的總入學率為97.5%，男童的入學率為95.7%，女童則為99.5%。
巴勒斯坦基礎教育的畢業考試主要為九年級學生而設。不過，能力與九年級學生相當的離校生亦可參加畢業考試，以獲取基礎教育考試證書。
2003和2007年，八年級的學生需要參加TIMSS評估。2003年數學和科學測試的分數分別為390和435，2007年則為367和404。
Secondary education consists of two years, and includes an academic and a vocational program. (MOEHE 2005b) Students are able to select either of these programs, but their right to entry is based on successful completion of Grade 10 based on the results of their final assessments
In secondary academic education in 2005/2006, a total 118,868 students were enrolled in schools. Among them, most students were enrolled in schools provided by the Palestinian Authority (114,790 students, 97 percent of total), and about 3 percent of the students were enrolled in private schools. UNRWA does not provide education at secondary level Gross enrollment ratios for empowerment stage were 97.5% for total, 95.7% for male, and 99.5% for female students.
In secondary vocational education during the 2005/2006 school year, a total of 5,999 students were enrolled in schools. Among them, most students were enrolled in schools operated by the Palestinian Authority (5,653 students, 94 percent of total), and about 6 percent of the students were enrolled in private schools Gross enrollment ratios for empowerment stage are 97.5% for total, 95.7% for male, and 99.5% for female students. Gross enrollment ratios for secondary education were 75.2% for total, 69.2% for male, and 81.6% for female students.
In the secondary education 2005/2006 school year, there were in total 3,734 classes, of which 185 classes (5 percent) were co-educational. While in the West Bank the share of co-educational classes was 7.4 percent, in The Gaza Strip only 0.1 percent of the total classes were co-educational, in fact only one school.
Certificate of General Secondary Education Examination (Tawjihee) was issued for high school students in grade 12 to prepare them for admission to the universities
高等教育通常包括四年的大學教育，學生在當中可取得學士學歷，而碩士學歷則需要額外就讀兩年方可取得。有些院校則提供兩年的文憑課程。 2005年，加薩及西岸地區有10所大學、1所遠距教學院校（）、13所大學學院，以及19所社區學院。當中大部分的院校都是在以色列的佔領下建立和發展的。大多數的大學都是非牟利機構，他們將募捐的款項和巴勒斯坦當局提供的資金一併使用。
在2004/2005學年，高等教育機構共招收了138,139名學生。當中有76,650名學生就讀大學，46,453名學生就讀遠距教學院校，6,034名學生就讀大學學院，以及9,002名學生就讀社區學院。在大學、公開大學和大學院校，男性學生的比例比女性學生高，社區學院的女性比例則較男性高。2007年，高等教育總入學率為46.2%，男性為41.6%，女性則為50.9%。
在巴勒斯坦的高等教育中，就讀社會科學、教育、人文和藝術的學生人數較多，就讀科學和工程的則相對少。
高等教育的需求在近年明顯上升。1995至2006年期間，入讀高等教育院校的學生增加了三倍。有學者指，巴勒斯坦當局不僅要滿足因中等教育畢業生人數增加而引致的更大高等教育需求，更要保持高登教育的質素和相關性，以適應全球經濟的不斷變化的需要。另外，由於巴勒斯坦當局的財政狀況不佳，高等教育的資金被認為不足夠。現時巴勒斯坦的高等教育制度非常依賴學生繳付的費用，學費佔大學經營成本的六成。
The MOEHE has developed a new student loan scheme for tertiary education. The objectives of this loan scheme are: 1) to create a sustainable resource that will assist students into the future, 2) to ensure that students understand their responsibility to share the cost of their education, 3) to provide a strong, streamlined repayment system that is easy and fair (repayments of loans must be collected from all students), and 4) to provide a collection mechanism that will ensure sustainability (a revolving fund)
UNESCO states that because of "isolation, [the Universities] have suffered in particular from the absence of research departments."
"Inter-university co-operation programmes are underway, such as TOKTEN, PEACE and MEDCAMPUS. They are supported by partners such as the European Union, UNESCO and the UNDP. The PEACE programme (Palestinian-European Academic Co-operation in Education) involves 23 Palestinian Authority and European universities. It has been particularly noteworthy for having allowed students and teachers from the West Bank and Gaza to be admitted to European faculties at a time when the university establishments of Gaza and the West Bank were closed. In a second phase, it is to provide for the dispatch of missions of volunteer academics, on sabbatical, from Europe, North America and the rest of the world to the West Bank and Gaza." "Palestinian students wishing to obtain a doctorate must study either in Israel, or overseas."Formal vocational education starts after basic education and lasts two years. After graduation, students can join university colleges(diploma in 2 years or Bachelor in 4 years) or colleges(2 years). There are five streams in school-based vocational training: industrial, agricultural, commercial, hotel and home economics. Fifteen secondary industrial schools offer 17 specializations and 2,185 students are enrolled in 2004/05. All but three of these industrial schools are funded by government. Sixty four academic secondary schools offer commercial subjects and nearly 3,000 students are enrolled. The two hotel training schools are private. Total students enrollment for the five streams increased from around 3,000 in 1999/2000 to 5,561 in 2004/05. This is considerably lower than the MOEHE 2000-2005 target (9,000 students enrollment). This is partly because this type of training remains unpopular among most students and parents/guardians.
The demand for most vocational training is weak. A few community colleges with limited capacity of 200-300 students have high applicant-place ratio (especially for nursing and the UNRWA Gaza Training Centre). The rest of community colleges have only around one applicant-place ratio. Manual skilled occupations continue to have low status and only the least academically able students are expected to enroll at TVET institutions. The majority of colleges have low student-teacher ratios and high unit cost.
In addition to community colleges, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs provides other TVET opportunities. Twelve Rehabilitation Centers that target dropouts, slow learners are run by this Ministry. Total enrollments were around 850 in 2004/05 with 380 graduates. The Ministry of Ex-Detainees also offers TVET to around 1,000 students and most of them are males. Four hundred fifty students are enrolled in the National Institute of Information Technology. The ministry also handles TVET centres (enrollment: 6600 students, which offer curriculum in trade (2 years), technical/semi-professional (2 years) and certificate courses (1 –2 years). Besides, The UNRWA provides short-term courses (8–40 weeks).
在統一課程推行前，加沙和西岸地區長期使用其他國家的教材。2000年，巴勒斯坦當局透過推出全國統編教材以實施全國課程。最初，這些教材首先為一年級和六年級所應用。其後，在2001年，二年級和七年級的學生也開始使用這些教材。2006年，巴勒斯坦所有學生都使用全國統編教材。 自1950年起，UNRWA一直是為難民兒童提供基礎教育的主要機構，所有已登記的難民兒童可在15歲前享有免費的基礎教育。截至2009年12月31日，巴勒斯坦有接近482,000個學生在691所學校裏就讀。 UNRWA學校遵從巴勒斯坦的課程設置，使得UNRWA學生能升讀更高級的課程，或者取得當地認可的資歷。
在1960年代，UNRWA的學校實現全面性別平等。這些學校的教室十分擠迫，環境也比較狹窄，學生與教師共同使用一座建築。然而，需要注意的是，並不是所有難民兒童都在UNRWA學校就讀，部分難民兒童會在約旦或敘利亞就讀當地的政府學校。
UNRWA也營運8所職業和技術培訓中心，以及3所教師培訓學院。Elias H.Tuma, Haim Darin-Drabkin, The Economic Case for Palestine, Croom Helm, London 1978 p. 48. (respectively, Professor of Economics at Cal-U, Davis, and Director of the Institute for Land Resource Planning, at Tel Aviv and consultant for the UN)