The General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT) has reached a landmark agreement on salaries with the national Ministry of Education which has officially adopted the union’s e-learning model.
The GUPT’s achievements were linked to its swift development of an effective national response to the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, Education International’s COVID Solidarity Fund supported the union in financing an online training programme to help the union emerge stronger from the crisis.
According to GUPT, the union’s decision to train its members on online educational programmes clearly helped it to position itself as a strategic social partner.
Virtual inverted classroom
Trainees were selected through the union’s branches in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - 52 members were involved in the learning model of the virtual inverted classroom. The training course was conducted remotely from 1 August until 1 October, in total compliance with health protocols.
As a result of this training, the Department for Training and Educational Development was established within the GUPT headquarters. The newly trained core group of teachers will be responsible for providing training sessions/professional development within this new department.
Renewed role, positive perception of union
This strategic direction aims to renew the role of the union in Palestine and to help the GUPT to attract new members and position itself as a stronger social partner.
This will be greatly helped by the positive results of a survey conducted before and after the training. It showed that the perception of the union’s role has already considerably changed among its members.
Now, the GUPT plans to provide broader training on e-learning and to make a significant impact in reshaping the future of the teaching profession in the medium- and long-term.