Education Under Attack - UNESCO Islamabad

also are struggling to attract students from all over Thailand, as they used to, whichin turn leads to a lower quality of entrant.In the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, schools serving 12,000 children wereclosed for almost 5 months during continuous curfews imposed in 2000. DuringIsrael’s Operation Defensive Shield in March to May 2002, some 600,000 Palestinianchildren of school age were unable to attend school on a regular basis. Likewise,Palestinian attacks on school buses and other targets have kept Israeli children athome. A study of Israeli schools in 2000, before violence escalated, found that 6.5per cent of secondary school pupils and 4.6 per cent of secondary students reportedavoiding going to school at least once a month due to fear of violence on the wayto or at school. 83Education International says that ways must be found to protect education fromthe effects of fighting and end the perception of schools as legitimate targets bycombatants. “We believe in quality education for all,” Jan Eastman said. “Childrenshould not have to suffer the loss of education and worse, the actual violence, nomatter what the reason for the conflict.”83 Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, September 2002, Israel/Palestinian AutonomousTerritories.50