The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), announced the launch of an Education Expert Advisory Group to help ensure the over 550,000 Palestine refugee students UNRWA serves maintain access to quality education.

According to UNRWA, the panel will be composed of globally recognized education experts representing renowned institutions such as UNESCO and the World Bank, among others.

Working in concert with the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Deputy Commissioner-General, and Director of Education, the Advisory Group will provide recommendations and advice on a range of issues of strategic importance, including the digitalization of education, gender equality, and educational planning models.

A core focus of the new Experts Group will be to assist the UNRWA education programme with its ongoing digital transformation, as access to remote learning systems will contribute to making UNRWA Education more resilient in the face of disruption of physical schooling. The members of the Experts Group will serve for a two-year period.

The Agency’s Education Programme delivers education to roughly 540,000 Palestine refugees across 711 schools today, and has educated an estimated 2.5 million children over the past 70 years. In addition, UNRWA administers eight vocational training centres and two educational science faculties, which educate some 10,000 Palestine refugee youth across the region every year.