The Follow-Up Committee on Arab Education (FUCAE), established in 1984, strives to achieve equality for Arab education in Israel in all fields, from budget allocation to curriculum development and representation in decision-making positions.  The Follow-Up Committee works to close the gap between Jewish and Arab schools through advocacy, research, training and empowerment. FUCAE recently succeeded in the completion, widespread distribution and publicity of its Research Study conducted on the Alternative Arab Educational Structure. This study clarifies the need for vast educational reform and for correction of the immensely insufficient present Arab educational system.   FUCAE is a non-political/non-religious, registered non-profit organization under the patronage of the Supreme Follow-Up Committee (the representative body for Arab Municipalities and Local Councils), presently chaired by Mr. Nebeeh Abu-Saleh.

ý     The Latest FUCAE Developments

The Sixth  National Conference On Arab Education: 

The sixth conference on Arab Education’s header was “towards the re-organization of Arab Education-Structure and Subject matter’. As this is an event which takes place once every five years, hundreds of educators, academics and researchers, public figures and representatives from a wide array of NGO’s and institutions participated in the conference; and over thirty academics, researchers and educational professionals took part in lectures, workshops and discussions.

     Many topics and perspectives regarding Arab Education were discussed at the Sixth Conference on Arab Education, during its workshops and during the study days which preceded the conference. The core conference discussion was aimed at summarizing the last five years of work at the Follow-Up Committee and formulating a future action strategic plan for the advancement of Arab Education and the achievement of full equality.

  Among the main outcomes of the conference were some 26 decisions and recommendations approved after discussion and review during the study days and conference workshops. Several of the priorities selected for advancement are mentioned as follows: The Ministry of Education and Culture is implored to adopt the conclusions and recommendations of the research study titled “the Alternative Structure of the Arab Educational System”. The Follow-Up Committee also appeals to the Ministry of education to adopt the extended study program in the area of education for national identity, in all Arab High Schools. Additional requests call for the  government to  administer equalitarian budget allocation to the Arab Educational System, Arab pupils, NGO’s and institutions serving Arab youth in all areas including: construction, teaching hours, special education, science and technology, additional services and supportive elements, curricula, text books and teacher training programs.

Furthermore the Ministry is called upon to enforce complete implementation of the Law for Mandatory and Free Education for children above the age of three in all Arab localities. This is especially crucial in those localities which are not recognized and preparations should be made in order to meet the required infrastructure standards.

Additional demands necessitate developing the integration program for children with special needs and incorporating them into mainstream educational facilities. This step is necessary in order to close gaps between the allocated integration hours in Arab Education and the actual needs according to the criteria set by the Jewish Sector thus meeting the standards of Supreme Court decisions in this area.

        Finally the Israeli Government is called upon to immediately acknowledge all unrecognized Arab localities and will provide them will all necessary infrastructures and services. The Ministry of Education is obligated to provide all of the educational services which are required for the children in these localities. For a complete list of the recommendations, check the website at: arab-education.org/english.

The International Conference on Education, Social Development and Empowerment among Indigenous Peoples and Minorities: An International Perspective:

Preparations for the Conference: The International Conference on Education and Empowerment among Minorities and Indigenous Peoples was planned and organized by The Follow-Up Committee, Shatil, Heinrich Boll Foundation and The Department of Education at The University of Beer-Sheba, These parties worked together throughout the preceding year, and successfully brought together people from minorities and indigenous populations all over the world. Among the countries and cultures represented in the Conference were: The Indigenous people of Australia and New Zealand, First Nation Canadians, Native Americans, minorities studying in the German school system, Mexico, Guatemala and Palestinians.  Some of our guests arrived before the conference and toured the Negev, Jerusalem viewing the separation fence, and the North. Dr.  Brian Rice, our guest from Canada, a descendent of the Mohawk tribe, gave several talks in the Nazareth area, and met with some NGO’s to exchange knowledge and experience. Brian gave a presentation at the Follow-Up Committee office which encompassed Native American History, colonialism, land expropriation, institutionalization of native children and cultural genocide.

Conference Highlights and Key Topics:  The Conference opened with Noeline Villebrun, National Chief of the Dene Nation’s keynote address which touched on the issues which became the focus of many presentations and discussions. Villebrun’s rich heritage and experience as a tribal leader accompanied by her Elder’s moving song and prayers signified the extensive exchange on indigenous culture and education that occurred throughout the conference. The proceeding presentations elicited strong response and discourse which revolved around indigenous people’s rights to education and the struggle for obtaining cultural and educational autonomy. One illustration of the significance of the acknowledgement of indigenous culture and educational autonomy is apparent in the curricula and teaching methods’ components. Indigenous peoples and minorities have the right to become educated about their own history, culture, heritage, language and customs. The methods for teaching these themes are often non-conventional and involve outdoors learning, story telling, taking part in ceremonies, rites and rituals, as well as maintaining a reverence for clan relations. The various values instilled in indigenous culture are often lacking in mainstream education, subsequently native children become estranged from their culture and subsequently labeled as failures. The prevalent ignorance of Native history, culture, language and folklore indeed creates a barrier between the indigenous child and mainstream education.   Many of the conference presentations related to Education in the larger context of society and the systems with which it is in contact.  The education of minorities and indigenous peoples necessarily touches on all major spheres of life; the relationship between the community and land, the question of ownership, redistribution of resources, and the nature of the collective economy, which is so common among indigenous peoples. In fact,  the inclusive nature of community itself to minorities and to indigenous people, with implications on the nature of ownership, economy, decision making and spokespersons were all focal issues in discussions and presentations on educational models. Clearly, gender and ethnic discrimination as a widespread phenomenon is at the forefront of all native and first nation agendas. Girls and women throughout the world are torn between their appointed roles in the community, and their right to an empowering educational experience. It is the responsibility of the state to take into consideration these issues when planning educational policy and curricula.

     The issue of state responsibility for education of minorities was a strong theme throughout the conference, and was emphasized strongly by the Jewish and Palestinian Israeli speakers.

Ultimately, the preservation of native languages and culture as a counterforce to the attempt to eliminate them was a prominent common denominator, world wide.

 The Dovrat Committee on Education, appointed in late 2003 by the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, serves as a national task force whose purpose is to make recommendations for a reform of the general Israeli educational system. Following FUCAE’s appearance’s before the Dovrat Committee on several occasions FUCAE’s Chairman Raji Mansoor received a government appointment to join the committee. Periodic committee meetings are held and FUCAE’s input will be an essential part of the committee’s work to reorganize the educational system.

   Education now in the Negev:

FUCAE ‘s project in the Negev to decrease drop-out among pupils from the unrecognized villages, detect preschoolers with learning disabilities and empower local educators is now  at the completion stage of the first phase. With newly trained educators and preschooler teachers and a data base with updated information regarding pupil school attendance and dropouts the project is now ready for expansion.

      The Annual Assembly: on May 30, incorporated policy discussion and elections, resulting in the appointment of Nabeeh Abu Saleh as new Chair of FUCAE.  

       The Study Day on the Dovrat Commission Recommendations: held on July 13^th in Nazareth, concluded that accurate application of the reform implicates primarily the following amendments with regard to Arab Education:

      Equality in resource allocation, school budgets and teaching hours and furthermore application of strictly equalitarian criterion in application of the Dovat recommendations.

      Reorganization, relocation and reinforcement of educational/ cultural work via the regional administrative offices, while emphasizing the importance and role of the supervisors in the area.

      Recommendations for the establishment of an external institution for evaluation in addition to the internal evaluation mechanism of the educational system.

      Implementation of the law for free and mandatory education from age three throughout the system. Reinforcement of public education with a special emphasis on diminishing gaps between the Jewish and Arab sectors.

      Policies of affirmative action will be applied to the infrastructures in the Arab Educational System while forming operative plans and allocation of all necessary resources for the closing of gaps throughout Arab education; thus guaranteeing provision for application of the commission’s recommendations in the Arab Educational System.

      The establishment of an Arab Educational Administration thus guaranteeing the proper Arab professional representation in the Pedagogical Secretariat in the Ministry of Education and Culture.

      Creating a clear status for Arab school principals and granting them responsibility and authority with regard to hiring, promoting and firing teachers.

      Objective school principal appointments accompanied by an entirely professional screening process, which evaluates appointee’s skills and suitability.

      The organizational structure of the regional educational structure will include local authority representatives who will work aside the professional educators and community representatives. The above forum will have the authority and responsibility to make decisions jointly.

      Delegation of authority, responsibility and public mandate to the regional educational authority to determine curriculum and important subject matter in fields like history, civic education, Arabic, geography and national identity.

      Complete equality between recognized and unrecognized Arab villages in the Negev and the Galilee with regard to education will be applied.

      Education will be socially equal and non-selective in both the public and private schools.

      Joint Jewish/Arab regional educational departments with complete authority and responsibility for equality in budget and resource allocation in both systems. 

Ø      In the beginning of September, FUCAE’s office moved to new quarters and now works adjacent to the National Committee for the Arab local authorities in the Vradim Neighborhood of Nazareth.

Ø      On September 18^th the National Committee for Arab Local Authorities and FUCAE decided that the October uprisings of the year 2000 will be commemorated on a one day general strike throughout the Palestinian Arab community of Israel on October first. FUCAE has instructed all Departments of Education in Arab Authorities and School Principals to observe the fourth year since the October uprisings with a at least one hour classroom lessons on the topic. FUCAE’s guidelines include suggested classroom activities such as: stating the names of the victims and discussing the Or Commission recommendations. FUCAE’s instructions also include relating to the more recent decision of the Commission of Ministers called the ’Lapid Commission”. The Lapid Commision proposed that Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel serve in a civil service program. FUCAE strongly objects to the granting of basic civil rights being contingent on such a service, as this is against the spirit of the Or Commission recommendations.  FUCAE has traditionally maintained this important role of granting such educational instructions in order to observe significant events in Palestinian Arab history such as the Massacre of Kfar Kassem and the Nakba.  

FUCAE’s Plans for the coming Months:

·        A series of symposiums in Jewish and Arab academia on the subject of the Alternative Arab Educational Structure

·         Resource development for the expansion of the National Identity Program in order to include more schools and to publish the curricula in a text book.

·        Ensuring that Arab educational goals and equality are attained through the Dovrat Commission.

·        Following FUCAE’s breakthrough meeting with the Ministry of Education on September 5^th,  at which the General Director, the Minister of Education and FUCAE were present,  a new joint committee was formed.  This Supreme steering committee under the auspices of the Ministry has the prime goal of advancing the main issues on FUCAE’s current agenda. Joint Ministry/FUCAE professional Sub-committees were appointed for handing crucial matters such as: construction of schools and classrooms, preparation for the application of  the Dovrat Commission, granting proportional educational hours per pupil in the Arab Educational System, appointments of Principals and teachers, the advancement of science and technology, gaps in matriculation and national examination results between Arab and Jewish pupils, and the establishment of an Arab pedagogical administration.  Our next newsletter will contain a more detailed account of the progress made in this forum.

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