Economy and Education
Historically, Deir Ghassaneh depended primarily on olives, and until the present day most of Bani Zeid's cultivable land is covered by olive orchards. The cultivation of other fruit trees is significantly lower, with almonds being a distant second at 240 dunams. Other crops grown include grains which cover 135 dunams as well as onions, dry legumes and fodder to a lesser degree. Only 1% of the town's residents own livestock and according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, there were 1,880 goats, 268 sheep, 12 cows and 281 beehives in Bani Zeid in 2009. Agriculture currently accounts for 10% of labor in the town.
Today, employment in the Palestinian government and private businesses is the dominant economic activity in Bani Zeid, making up around 70% of the town's workforce. The trade sector accounts for 10% of the labor force, followed by the industrial sector which makes up 8%. Work in the Israeli labor market employs around 2% of the working population. Unemployment in the town was at 20% in 2011. According to the Bani Zeid Municipality, there are 26 grocery stores, 26 public service venues, 11 workshops, a bakery and a butchery and two olive oil presses in the town.
A school was founded in Deir Ghassaneh in 1925. Prior to the British Mandate period, boys' would normally receive education in a kuttab, an elementary-type school with Islamic law and tradition having a major influence on the curriculum. Today, there is one elementary school (Bani Zeid Elementary School) and one secondary school (Bashir al-Barghouti Secondary School) in the town of Bani Zeid, both run by the government. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, in the 2010-2011 academic year there were 26 classes filled by 691 students, both male and female. There was 45 teaching staff. There are no kindergartens in Bani Zeid. The closes institution for higher learning is Birzeit University in the village of Bir Zeit to the southeast.
According to the PCBS, in 2007 94.5% of the population over the age of 10 was literate. Of that demographic segment, 21.7% received elementary education, 24.8% received primary education and 20.2% had secondary education. Over 15% had completed higher education (617 persons), of which 248 attained associate degrees, 324 attained bachelor's degrees and 45 obtaining higher diplomas.
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