AMMAN, June 8, 2011 (WAFA) - OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Tuesday signed a $1 million agreement for the benefit of Palestinian refugee students, according to an UNRWA press release.

It said that the contribution will be used to fund scholarships for refugee students in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.

“The contribution will allow young Palestine refugees who excel academically and would otherwise be unable to afford tertiary education to attend university by covering the cost of tuition for the whole duration of their degree and cover the period from 2011 to 2016,” said the release.

It also said that the $1 million from OFID “will not only allow around 100 Palestine refugee students to create a better future for themselves but will also contribute to the economic and social development of the Palestine refugee community as a whole by creating a skilled workforce.”

While the cost of tertiary education is prohibitively high for many Palestine refugee students, however, “through generous contributions such as this from OFID and through its own funding in the past, UNRWA has been able to assist 5,545 scholars in 50 different fields of study and specializations,” it added.

OFID is a longstanding partner of UNRWA in the area of microfinance. It has funded food assistance for Gaza and is currently funding the construction of new schools in Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon, which is under reconstruction.

M.H./F.J.