Education in Jerusalem: A new school year under curriculum siege and a lack of classrooms
With the start of the new school year, the battle over education in Jerusalem intensifies, between the occupation's attempts to impose its curriculum and "Israelize" schools, and the severe shortage of classrooms to accommodate students with the natural population increase. One of the most prominent problems to emerge this year is the sudden decision to transfer students from Silwan Secondary School to another school.
This comes at a time when approximately 120,000 male and female students, from kindergarten to high school, are enrolled in Jerusalem's schools. They are distributed across the city's schools: 50% of them in municipal and Israeli Ministry of Education schools, 40% in private schools, and the remainder in schools affiliated with the Islamic Endowment and independent schools.
The Silwan Secondary School crisis
One of the most prominent crises this year is the sudden decision by the occupation municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education to evacuate Silwan Secondary School for Boys of its 600 students and transfer them to Al-Shamila School in Silwan. This has resulted in doubling the number of students, exceeding its capacity.
Ziad Al-Shamali, head of the Jerusalem Schools Parents' Committees Union, explained that the infrastructure surrounding the Al-Shamila School (to which the students were transferred) is unable to accommodate the new numbers. The streets are narrow and crowded in the morning and at the end of the school day, and there are no parking spaces for teachers, whose number has increased to 80 after the Silwan Secondary School staff were transferred.
Al-Shamali added that the Silwan Secondary School building will be converted into a coeducational school teaching the Israeli curriculum (Bigrut). Meanwhile, the Central Parents' Committee of Silwan Students announced its refusal to transfer students from neighborhood schools or impose the appointment of new principals without consulting parents, threatening to launch a comprehensive strike if the Ministry of Education does not respond to its demands.
Silwan announces a comprehensive strike in rejection of Israeli Ministry of Education decisions
On Sunday evening, the Central Parents' Committee of Silwan and Ras al-Amoud Schools, in cooperation with local dignitaries, mayors, and local institutions, announced a comprehensive, open-ended strike across all schools in the town, starting Monday, September 1, 2025. This strike is in protest of the "unjust" decisions affecting schools and students, and to demand the full realization of their legitimate rights.
The committee confirmed that students at Silwan Secondary School for Boys will participate in a protest on Sunday morning in front of their school, accompanied by their parents
Pressure on private schools and the imposition of distorted curricula
In addition, private schools are facing increasing pressure from the Israeli Ministry of Education, which stipulates that they must open “Bigrut” classes in exchange for continued financial allocations. The Ministry has held several meetings with school administrations to this end.
The occupation authorities have also forced the administrations of municipal and private schools that adopt the Palestinian curriculum to use reprinted textbooks, removing material deemed "inappropriate," threatening schools that refuse with closure, license revocation, and a halt to funding.
Al-Shamali indicated that the number of students enrolled in “Bigrut” is expected to increase significantly this year, reaching more than 40,000 students, compared to approximately 20,000 last year, following the imposition of new sections teaching the Israeli curriculum in schools.
Doubling the number of inspectors
Al-Shamali explained that the Israeli Ministry of Education has doubled the number of inspectors in Jerusalem schools. From just three inspectors, the number has now increased to more than 25, in a move aimed at intensifying oversight and pressure to enforce the Israeli curriculum.
Classroom shortages and the closure of UNRWA schools
East Jerusalem schools suffer from a chronic shortage of classrooms, a situation the occupation municipality bears responsibility for, as it refuses to provide sufficient buildings and schools for students. Estimates indicate a shortage of approximately 2,200 classrooms in Jerusalem schools.
Al-Shamali said that the construction and opening of new schools in Jerusalem is not keeping pace with the natural population increase, exacerbating the capacity crisis. The situation has become more complicated after the closure of UNRWA schools in Jerusalem at the end of the last school year, which led to the dispersal of students and forced a large number of them to enroll in schools that follow the Israeli curriculum within the separation wall.
Approximately 150 male and female students who are eligible for family reunification are also facing a serious problem after losing their places in UNRWA schools in Shu’fat refugee camp. Their placement in other schools within the wall remains an additional challenge for their families.
The new school year in Jerusalem begins amid escalating Israeli restrictions targeting the core of Palestinian education through the imposition of curricula and "Israelization." Meanwhile, students and their families face daily crises related to classroom shortages, the lack of student registration, and student transportation, threatening the future of thousands of Palestinian students in the city.
