Last September, Mahmoud Shreim was preparing for his final year of high school. Just over a month later, his education, along with that of hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza, is in disarray. They face the prospect of starting a second school year without formal classes.
Despite the Palestinian Ministry of Education’s promise in August to resume classes on September 9, there have been no concrete plans communicated. The ministry had proposed a mix of online learning and tent-based instruction, but pupils and NGO staff report that no further details have been provided.
“There has been no announcement or plan from the Ministry of Education on how students will be integrated back into their education,” said Mahmoud Shreim, a student from Gaza City’s Al Tuffah neighborhood. “All my years of studying will be wasted if I can’t complete my final high school term.”
Since Israel’s strikes and ground offensive began last October, an estimated 630,000 pupils in Gaza have been deprived of education. Many residents have been repeatedly displaced, each time with fewer belongings. There are concerns that this disruption will cause students to fall behind their peers in the occupied West Bank, with no clear plan for catching up.
Amid these challenges, some are focusing on helping Gaza’s children recover mentally and physically from the ongoing conflict. Mustafa Abu Amra, an Arabic teacher formerly with an UNRWA school, noted the severe impact of the war on students’ psychological well-being. “Students are more aggressive now,” he said. “They should be in classrooms studying, not suffering from a lack of education, nutrition, and security.”
Abu Amra is now volunteering in educational tents at shelter centers, providing lessons in Arabic, math, and English. He worries about students’ future prospects if they miss a year of schooling. “Students are asking if they have lost the last year and if there will be a plan to integrate their previous learning with this year’s curriculum. We don’t have answers, but we are trying to keep students engaged,” he said.
He is working with international organizations to provide some form of education. Mahmoud Shreim, who hopes to study abroad and become a PE teacher, expressed his frustration. “I had hoped the war would end, and a special program would be set up to help us catch up with our peers in the West Bank,” he told The National.
UN workers also seem uncertain about the school year ahead. UNRWA spokeswoman Inas Hamdan informed The National that “there are no plans for the current education year in Gaza.”
In Khan Younis’s Al Mawasi, Um Motaz Kaloub is struggling to secure her five children’s education. Her eldest should be in 9th Grade, while her youngest should be starting 1st Grade. “We need to save the students; they are devastated. They’ve already lost one year, and there’s uncertainty about this year too,” she said.
Kaloub finds the educational tents helpful but inadequate. Her children are spending their time on household chores rather than focused learning. “The tents are more for passing time than serious study,” she said. “Children need to return to a structured school program, with regular schedules and homework, to keep their minds active.”