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UK government to help lead ‘review’ into Palestinian Authority textbooks

March 20, 2019 at 3:17 pm

Palestinian children attend class in a school in Jerusalem on 3 January 2018 [Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency]

The UK government will help lead a review into Palestinian Authority (PA) school textbooks, according to a press release by the Department for International Development.

“After calls by the UK government for international action on education materials, a group of international partners, including the UK will lead a review into the books included in the Palestinian Authority’s current curriculum for primary and secondary school children,” states the press release.

According to the government, “the results of the review will be used to identify the steps necessary to ensure such books promote peace and tolerance.”

The press release claims that the results of the view will be “available to the Palestinian Authority and partners by September 2019”, and further claims that “the Palestinian Authority have agreed to engage constructively with the findings of the review.”

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The government revealed that the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research – described as a publicly-funded institution based in Germany – will be commissioned “to produce an initial scoping report to expedite the production of the full review”.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: “The UK is rightly at the forefront of the international community on this issue. We are working closely with the Palestinian Authority to ensure that all Palestinian children receive a decent education and are able to fulfil their potential.”

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