UNRWA Training Center Shutdown in Qalandia Leaves West Bank Students in Limbo

The closure of a UNRWA-affiliated vocational training center in the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, has left students from across the West Bank facing an uncertain academic year, as local committees and the UN agency work toward a legal resolution.

The Kalandia Training Center, which once drew students from refugee camps throughout the territory for technical education, was shut down overnight by the Israeli army. The Popular Committee for Services in Qalandia refugee camp said daily coordination and meetings with relevant authorities are under way to find a legal solution to the Israeli military order behind the closure.

For students who had already made the journey to enroll, the shutdown came as a shock. Mohammed Yassin, who traveled from Hebron in the southern West Bank to study automotive mechanics, said he arrived to find the institute closed and relocated.

"I came to Qalandia, to the Kalandia Training Center, only to find it closed. It had been relocated," Yassin said. "I came to study automotive mechanics because it is one of the best institutes. The instruction is excellent, and I had heard many good things about it. I traveled all the way from Hebron to the Kalandia Training Center, but upon arrival, I was told it was closed."

The fate of students already enrolled and those intending to join at the start of the new academic year is the subject of daily discussion among the parties involved, foremost among them UNRWA and the local committee, given the institute's location inside the camp.

Mohammed Aslan, media director for the Popular Committee for Services in Qalandia refugee camp, said an agreement had been reached with the agency's administration to postpone the academic year rather than cancel it. The year is scheduled to begin on September 21.

"We agreed with the Agency's administration to announce a postponement of the academic year rather than its cancellation; the academic year is scheduled to begin on September 21. In the meantime, intensive efforts will continue to restore this academic, educational, and vocational institution for the benefit of refugees and the Palestinian cause," Aslan said.

He added that meetings are continuing on the basis of seeking a legal solution, noting that UNRWA has not received any written or official notification to vacate the building. Efforts are being pursued at diplomatic, political and legal levels, with hopes that they will yield a positive outcome for the recovery of the facility.

The closure has left the center's classrooms, workshops and courtyard equipment idle, with its doors shut and the United Nations emblem visible on the premises.