Staffordshire University students union twins with Palestine Polytechnic (Hebron). Staffordshire University Students Union passed a motion to twin their Students Union with Palestine Polytechnic (Hebron).
In an identical motion to the one passed by Action Palestine in Manchester University the motion stated that students in Palestine have had their right to education consistently denied by the Israeli Occupation: checkpoints, attacks on Universities and limitations on movement which seriously hinder the ability of students in Palestine to learn and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has the ‘right to education’.
The union will now lobby Staffordshire University to provide at least 3 scholarships to Palestinian students who wish to study at the Staffordshire University as well as to support the Palestinian students in their “Right to Education†campaign and for their basic Human Rights within the territories of mandate Palestine and refugees.
University of Manchester Students Union twins with An Najah university Nablus Palestine University of Manchester Students Union passed a motion to twin their Students Union with An Najah University in Nablus Palestine.
The Student Union General Meeting on Wednesday 7th March 2007 was attended by over 600 students and the motion which acknowledged the detrimental effect of the Israeli occupation on the right to education of Palestinian students was passed by a majority of over 50 votes.
The motion stated that students in Palestine have had their right to education consistently denied by the Israeli Occupation: checkpoints, attacks on Universities and limitations on movement which seriously hinder the ability of students in Palestine to learn and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has the ‘right to education’.
The union will now lobby Manchester University to provide at least 3 scholarships to Palestinian students who wish to study at the university of Manchester as well as to support the Palestinian students in their “Right to Education†campaign and for their basic Human Rights within the territories of mandate Palestine and refugees.
For more information contact:
Action Palestine
info@actionplestine.org
www.actionpalestine.org
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=20305
Nablus – Ma’an – An-Najah National University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus is preparing to twin with the universities of Manchester and London through cooperation between the student unions in these universities.
The University of Manchester Student Union passed a motion in its entirety on 7 March to go ahead with a twinning agreement with their counterparts at An-Najah University.
The agreement aims to support the Palestinian right to education, particularly in reference to the obstacles that face Palestinian university students such as curfews, checkpoints, barriers and the separation wall. The future of Palestinian universities is under threat in this way, and, besides, these measures are violations of international law which maintains the right to education and to live in dignity.
The articles of the motion include the suggestion to provide at least three scholarships for Palestinian students who wish to study at the University of Manchester. They will also try to persuade the administration to drop the international tuition fees for Palestinian students, so that they pay the same as local students.
In a different regard, the Palestinian student association in the University of London has launched a campaign to teach people about the Palestinian crisis and the obstacles facing Palestinian students. The agreement to be signed with the University of London aims to strengthen cooperation between the student unions of both universities through exchanging visits and pointing out the impact of the Israeli occupation on the daily life of Palestinian students.
The twinning between the universities will also include the establishment of an exhibition of photographs in addition to field trips aimed at achieving joint cultural education.
London, March 2(IRNA) Students at the University of Manchester in northern England are backing the Palestinians right to education by seeking links with al-Najah University in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
The right to education is being led by Birzeit University in the West Bank, which has been closed down by Israeli military forces 15 times in its history.
In a motion to be debated next Wednesday, the University of Manchester Students Union (UMSU) is proposing to send a twinning invitation to their al-Najah counterparts and erect a plaque `Palestine and the Right to Education’ in its Steve Biko building.
Over one third of the Palestinian population are students in full-time school or university education, but the Israeli army has shelled and destroyed eight of the 11 universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since September 2000, the motion says.
According to a copy obtained by IRNA, it also points out that students are prevented from attending al-Najah University by Israel’s illegal barrier wall and two major checkpoints that enclose the entire city.
Students from Gaza are already banned from reaching the eight Palestinian Universities in the West Bank.
In the case of Birzeit, the number of Gazan students was reduced from 350 to only 35 by April 2005, UMSU said.
The motion warns that the future of many Palestinian universities are at “grave risk” due to the blanket curfews, 700 Israeli army roadblocks and other military obstacles, including the recently constructed barrier wall.
These “violate international law, including provisions against collective punishment and guarantees for the protection of civilian populations under military occupation, students’ right to education and fundamental rights of human beings,” it said.
UMSU said it was raising the concerns with colleagues in the National Union of Students to encourage further support for the right to education for Palestinian students.
It warned that a whole generation of Palestinian students were denied an education when Israel closed down all Palestinian universities and the majority of schools by military orders between 1988 and 1992.