Every morning, student Iman Awad wakes up in her tent in the Gaza Strip, not to go to traditional school desks, but to begin an arduous search for a way to take her high school exams. Iman accompanies her father on a daily journey through the crowded alleys of the camps, searching for a spot that provides an internet connection and electricity to power her tablet.
Iman's experience, a science stream student, embodies a bitter reality lived by thousands of Palestinian students who found themselves forced to adapt to an electronic examination system in the absence of infrastructure. Field sources confirm that this daily journey has turned into an additional psychological and physical burden, added to the pressures of studying and continuous displacement.
The suffering begins inside the tent, where the cramped spaces lack the minimum requirements for concentration or privacy, forcing students to resort to temporary cafes set up amidst the rubble. Iman's father says that the tents are not suitable for studying due to overcrowding and noise, making leaving them an indispensable necessity to ensure his daughter's educational future.
On the technical front, Iman faced severe difficulties while trying to access the 'Wise School' educational platform, as the link broke down more than once during crucial tests. The student recounts how she almost lost her grade in the physics exam due to the inability to upload answers, before succeeding at the last minute after arduous technical attempts.
These technical malfunctions were not isolated incidents; they recurred with many students who were not lucky enough to send their answers, forcing some to postpone their exams to the second round. Students' guardians indicate that the stress resulting from the fear of losing connection outweighs the stress of the exam itself, negatively affecting their academic performance.
In addition to technical crises, the living environment in the tents imposes harsh challenges, including a sharp rise in temperatures, the spread of insects, and the lack of adequate lighting. Iman is forced to study by the light of her mobile phone in the late hours of the night, or wake up before dawn to take advantage of the relative calm before the daily noise of the camp begins.
Amidst this crisis, community initiatives emerged to try and bridge the gap, such as 'Cafe Ferrero' run by Siraj Abu Hilal, which transformed from a commercial project into a service center for students. The place provides charging and internet services at symbolic prices or sometimes for free to support the continuity of the educational process for displaced people in those areas.
Abu Hilal explains that the idea for the cafe stemmed from a personal struggle his family faced, as he watched his sister struggle last year to take her exams under similar conditions. The engineering team supervising the place strives to overcome technical obstacles and provide a quiet environment as much as possible for students and remote workers amidst the large crowds.
Despite these efforts, the pressure remains high on the limited connection points, as the cafe faces challenges related to the slowness of official platforms when large numbers of users access them simultaneously. Those in charge of the initiative try to monitor ministry links and provide alternative internet cards to reduce the chances of students failing to upload their files.
Iman Awad's story encapsulates a complex educational scene in the Gaza Strip, where success now requires resilience that goes beyond mental capabilities to physical endurance. It is a daily battle that begins with searching for a charger for electricity and ends with waiting for the 'Sent' signal on the phone screen, under exceptional circumstances that the educational journey has never witnessed before.
The battle for success in Gaza is no longer linked to academic achievement alone; it begins with finding electricity, an empty seat, and a working electronic link.
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Between displacement tents and broken internet links... a difficult journey for high school students in Gaza