Israel-Hamas conflict prevents 39,000 Gaza students from taking final exams

The war in the Gaza Strip has prevented 39,000 students there from taking their final exams held on June 22, the Palestinian Ministry of Education said.

The ministry, based in the West Bank, said 50,097 high school students were taking the exam, known as Tawjihi, including 1,320 students displaced from Gaza.

Israel's military offensive on Gaza, now in its ninth month, has severely affected education in the narrow strip of land on the Mediterranean coast.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, while much of its infrastructure, including utilities, hospitals and schools, has been destroyed and famine is spreading as Israel controls the flow of goods into the area.

The United Nations says delivering aid into the territory is increasingly difficult as fighting continues.

At a destroyed school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, April 2024. Before the war, Gaza had 813 schools. Photo: NY Times

More than 625,000 students are missing out on learning opportunities or access to safe learning environments due to school closures and military strikes since the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas resumed on October 7 last year, according to the Global Education Cluster, a forum led by the United Nations children's agency UNICEF and the non -governmental organization Save the Children.

A satellite assessment conducted in April found that more than 85 percent of schools in Gaza had suffered some level of damage, they said, adding that schools were now being used as shelters for displaced people.

Of the 307 government school buildings, 286 were damaged, including dozens destroyed, according to Sadiq Khadour, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Education.

The destruction extended beyond buildings, including vital power and communications networks, making the prospect of switching to online education unfeasible in the near future, Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted Khadour as saying.

At least 8,000 school-age children and 350 teachers have been killed in Gaza and more than 12,500 students have been injured, according to the ministry.

They are planning a special exam for high school students when conditions in Gaza allow and the minimum compulsory curriculum can take place, Wafa news agency reported.

The ministry will also assess the damage to educational facilities and identify locations for temporary classrooms. Preliminary estimates indicate that Gaza needs at least 4,500 additional classrooms, operating in double shifts, to accommodate all students.

Minh Duc (According to The National News)

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