Teacher training

The UNRWA Institute of Education offers training and development for thousands of teachers, headteachers and supervisors across the Agency’s areas of operation. It offers:

• in-service training
• pre-service teacher training
• basic and enrichment training
• long- and short-term programmes

Set up in 1964 as a joint UNRWA/UNESCO project, over four decades the Institute has responded to the changing educational needs of the region. Training follows a well-developed methodology that adapts effectively to changing requirements.

In-service training

In-service training maintains and improves the quality of education provided to children in Agency schools. Upgrading teachers’ professional qualifications helps them:

• adapt to curriculum changes
• improve their teaching methods
• develop their educational and supervisory skills.

Each year, an average of 800 to 900 staff receive long-term in-service training organised by the Institute of Education and implemented jointly with the Education Development Centres in the fields with the support of UNRWA headquarters in Amman.

In Jordan, UNRWA offers a three-year in-service programme to help teaching staff upgrade their qualifications from a two-year diploma to a first university degree to meet new standards set by the Government of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

Pre-service training

Pre-service training seeks to ensure that sufficient qualified teachers are available for UNRWA schools and other school systems in the region.

In 1993, the two-year pre-service teacher education programme in Jordan and the West Bank was upgraded to a four-year university-level programme leading to a first university degree.

Educational science institutes in Amman (Jordan) and Ramallah (West Bank) accommodate 1,630 students and teachers every year.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, UNRWA faces difficulties recruiting qualified teachers because of a lack of trained teachers. To address this, UNRWA introduced a two-year training diploma. Each year, 100 students are trained to teach the first three grades of elementary school (ages six to nine).

More about vocational training centres

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Read UNRWA's human rights materials

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