This study highlights the role of Palestinian civil society bodies in the Occupied West Bank1 in the education sector. The study engages with the role of these bodies in terms of education programming and implementation i.e. service provision, policy making and change. The study also highlights the challenges that limit the ability of civil society bodies to positively engage in the formation of policies and vision of the education sector. It also explains the interconnected dynamics that frame the relation between civil society actors and the Ministry of Education (MOE)2 which is the main provider of education in the Occupied West Bank and the main institution that creates and implements policies and strategies for the sector. The study is based on 8 in-depth semi structured interviews with representatives of Palestinian NGOs and collectives and discussions that took place in two workshops. The interviews lasted between 45- 60 minutes. The first workshop was for two hours and the second was a full day workshop. The first workshop was organized by an education and youth NGO attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, UNRWA, INGOs, Palestinian civil society actors and educators. The second workshop was organized by a teachers’ collective and attended by public school teachers from various West Bank cities. The data generated from the interviews and the workshops was thematically analysed and framed within existing literature on the Palestinian education system and the role of civil society. The data generation phase of the research took place in August 2023, followed by data analysis, further literature review, research teams discussions and reflections as well as a webinar that aimed to present the initial results of the study and gage reflections from various actors in the education sector in the region which were also included in this report. This was followed by a workshop in Beirut that included representatives from civil society in Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan to compare the results from the three countries.

It is important to note that the results of this research were delayed due to the genocide that is taking place in Palestine since October 2023 and the drastic shifts in needs, responses and engagement in the role of civil society as well as the total destruction of the education sector in the Gaza Strip and the substantial disruption to the education process in the Occupied West Bank due to increased arrests and killing of students and teachers by the Israeli army and settlers, ongoing settlers attacks on Palestinian villages and ongoing Israeli occupation army invasions of cities and refugee camps in the North of the Occupied West Bank. The analysis is based on the conditions prior to the genocide and the deterioration of the conditions in the Occupied West Bank.