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Speaking to a newspaper last Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister and Higher Education Minister of the country, Dr. Nasser Addin Ash-Sha'er, revealed that guarantees will be given to the teachers that their salaries will be paid, that these salaries will be scheduled and that the strike will be suspended. After a meeting held in Ramallah with the Teachers’ Union and Dr Ash-Sha'er declared: ''We don’t want any more than the suspension of the strike. If it is proven that we are manipulating them, or lying in any way, then they can return to the strike, and this is their right." Commenting on the strike held by Civil servants, Asaad Abu Sharelh, who teaches literature at the University of Gaza explained: ‘This strike is mainly carried out by teachers of secondary school, I teach at University and our participation to the strike is not total, although we agree with their requests. In this situation it is like if we were all on strike. We receive part of our salaries from the fees that students pay hence we have received some money even if not regularly. The secondary school teachers instead have not been paid for the last six, seven months’ (translation of this interview is done by NEAR) Moreover it is also reported Palestinian students at Lebanese universities are facing a precipitous drop in loans and fellowships available to help them offset tuition costs this year. The European Union, which last year provided the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) with a $1.1 million grant for university scholarships as a one-time offer, has declined to renew its donation this year. URGENT
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