Sadiq Al-Khudour: 130,000 male and female students joined virtual education, and teachers from the West Bank are participating in teaching

Adnan Abu Hasna: The harsh conditions in Gaza make it impossible to start a real educational process and the generation is at risk of losing another academic year

Manal Qadri: “The genocide of education” in Gaza is part of the genocide that the world has been silently watching for nearly a year

Munther Al-Hayek: There is another hidden goal of the war, which is to make the Palestinian people ignorant and deprive them of their right to education.

Mazen Al-Dabbas: War not only affects the achievement of curriculum goals but also the mental health of students

Muhammad Anis Al-Muhtaseb: The systematic destruction of educational institutions in Gaza represents the destruction of an entire generation’s hopes for education

The repercussions and results of the war of extermination that the occupying state has been waging on the Gaza Strip for nearly a year have not been limited to tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, more than a third of whom are children and youth, in addition to the massive and unprecedented destruction. Rather, it has affected educational life, whether in schools, universities, or various educational institutions, which has caused the loss of an entire academic year, for the first time in the history of the Palestinian people, without a clear horizon for the possibilities of stopping this insane war, which portends the loss of another year.

This prompted the Ministry of Education to search for alternatives that might help mitigate losses in terms of education. It created what is known as virtual education, in cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), with the aim of continuing the educational process, albeit remotely, electronically, and with the participation of teachers from the West Bank.

But the big question is, how can students receive their education under the very harsh conditions they live in, under the criminal Israeli bombardment every hour and minute, the never-ending state of terror, the lack of electricity and the internet, in addition to the lack of water and food, and the continuous state of displacement from one place to another without there being a safe place?!

A plan to save the school year in Gaza through virtual education

The spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Sadiq Al-Khudour, announced that the ministry has begun implementing educational interventions for the benefit of Gaza students at the beginning of the current academic year via virtual education platforms. Al-Khudour told Al-Quds that the number of students enrolled in virtual education has exceeded 130,000 male and female students, and that teachers from the West Bank are participating in virtual schools.

He pointed out that virtual education includes all educational stages and grades. He added: "It is true that there are difficulties related to the sustainability of the Internet and its frequent interruptions, but recorded classes are provided to students, so that they can return to them at any time."

He stressed that the Ministry seeks to sustain this educational system by adopting an official educational platform based on the “educational packages” system, which focuses on covering the basics of previous and future learning.

19 thousand Gazan students in Egypt

Al-Khudour continued, saying: “We have a plan to save the school year and implement two school years in one year. In the first semester, we will give students a chance to make up for what they missed from last year, and then we will complete the current school year.” He explained that this plan aims to reduce the educational loss that has accumulated as a result of the war.

Al-Khudour stressed that the Ministry embraces all initiatives present in the actual centers, to work according to the educational packages approved by the Ministry.

He added: "As for the Gazan students in the Arab Republic of Egypt, who number 19,000, 11,000 of them were transferred for the last academic year via distance schools, and 8,000 students are being worked on to enable them to make up for the academic year."

The ministry works in coordination with UNRWA.

He explained that the ministry is working in coordination with UNRWA to ensure that Gazan students are able to receive education, noting that the biggest challenge is to accommodate students who were supposed to join the first grade this year. He said: “These students have been included in virtual classes, despite the enormous challenges facing this type of education.”

He also pointed out that 11th grade students, who are supposed to be in the Tawjihi stage this year, have been included in the plan, and work will be done to enable them to take their high school exams. He continued: "There is a plan to enable these students to take their exams at the beginning of next year, even if it is through unusual methods, if the exams cannot be held in the traditional way."

Al-Khudour praised the efforts of the male and female teachers involved in the educational process for Gaza students, noting that the Ministry highly appreciates their efforts, and that there is a special reward system for teachers participating in these initiatives, wishing the plan success and the continuation of the educational process despite the harsh conditions.

Educational initiatives limited to extracurricular activities and psychological release

In turn, UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna told Al-Quds that the current situation in Gaza makes it difficult to start any real educational process, adding that “the conditions in Gaza are very harsh, as two-thirds of the schools have been completely or partially destroyed, and what remains of them shelters hundreds of thousands of displaced people.”

He pointed out that the lack of electricity, internet, and educational infrastructure makes it impossible to provide any suitable educational environment, noting that “UNRWA and other parties began implementing some educational initiatives on August 1, in which thousands of students participated, but they were limited to non-curricular activities and psychological stress relief, and not integrated educational processes.”

90% of the Gaza Strip's population is trapped in a small area in the south.

Abu Hasna noted that 90 percent of the Gaza Strip's population, which numbers 1.8 million people, are now trapped in a small area in the south of the Strip, making it difficult to launch any comprehensive educational projects. He explained that the continuation of the situation in this way will lead to the loss of an entire generation of students, as thousands of them suffer from psychological trauma due to the ongoing wars, and many of them have been killed or injured.

He added: "The current situation makes it impossible to start a comprehensive educational process in Gaza, which exposes this generation to losing another academic year."

600,000 children have no place, no water, no food, no electricity, and no internet

He stressed that "the initiatives implemented by UNRWA and other organizations are completely insufficient," adding, "We are talking about more than 600,000 children who have no place, no electricity, no internet, no water, and are suffering from a severe shortage of food, which exacerbates the situation in an indescribable way."

The UNRWA spokesman stressed that "this unprecedented situation requires urgent international intervention to stop the bleeding of losses at all levels, especially in the education sector."

The war on Gaza is genocide and the destruction of an entire generation

Professor Manal Kadri, a sociologist from Tunisia, described the war on Gaza as an unparalleled “genocide.” She told Al-Quds that this war represents “killing, destruction, and mass inhumane displacement. It is the loss of an entire generation and a daily, ongoing struggle for survival.”

She added: "The annihilation of education" in Gaza is part of the genocide that the world has been watching silently since October 7, 2023, the date when the Al-Aqsa flood began.

Qadri pointed out that schools and universities in Gaza are closed in the absence of any clear indications of a ceasefire agreement and a return to normal life in the Strip. She added that about 803 schools, with 22,000 teachers, have been affected by the attacks, with 90% of them completely or partially destroyed. About 625,000 students have not started the new school year due to the ongoing attacks.

Schools, shelters, were not spared from the aggression

The Tunisian researcher spoke about turning schools into shelters for displaced people who were forcibly displaced from their homes, noting that the occupation forces targeted these schools, even if they were affiliated with international organizations such as the United Nations, which led to hundreds of martyrs and wounded.

Qadri expressed her concern about the long-term effects of children and youth being kept away from education in schools and universities, noting that the absence of education increases their risk of exposure to negative societal phenomena such as child labor and early marriage, and may also push some of them to join armed factions or deviate. She said: “He who opens the door of a school closes the door of a prison,” quoting the French writer Victor Hugo.

Education is a fundamental human right.

She stressed that education is a basic human right and one of the enabling rights that helps a person build and develop himself and develop society, and that disrupting it in Gaza due to the daily practices of the occupation and the crimes it commits represents a serious violation of international treaties and agreements, which amounts to crimes against humanity.

She stressed that destroying schools and universities means destroying an entire generation, and that the progress of society is linked to the education and development of generations.

Researcher Qadri concluded her speech by asking: “What development are we talking about when we are facing occupation forces implementing a plan with American support and the assistance of Arab parties, targeting all components of society in the Gaza Strip in the short and long term, including education and building generations?”

The occupation continues its systematic targeting of schools

In turn, Munther Al-Hayek, the official spokesman for the Fatah movement in Gaza, confirmed that the Israeli occupation continues its systematic targeting of schools and educational facilities in the Gaza Strip, which has led to the disruption of the educational process for the second year in a row, explaining that these attacks come within a series of Israeli attacks targeting the entire Palestinian people, including children and schools.

Al-Hayek told Al-Quds: “The occupation is waging a war of extermination and continuous bombing against the Palestinian people, targeting schools and educational facilities, from the northern Gaza Strip in Beit Hanoun to the southern regions, which has resulted in the martyrdom of hundreds of civilians, and the majority of the martyrs are children and school students.”

He pointed out that the destruction of infrastructure, including schools, is one of the occupation's methods of weakening the Palestinian people and depriving them of their basic rights.

The goal is to displace the Palestinian people

Al-Haik added: “Targeting schools is part of the occupation’s plan to obliterate Palestinian education and keep future generations ignorant,” saying: “The goal of this war is to completely destroy the infrastructure and displace the Palestinian people, but there is another hidden goal, which is to keep the Palestinian people ignorant and deprive them of the right to education.”

He pointed out that many students, especially in primary grades, have not been able to enter schools for two years due to the ongoing war.

Al-Hayek stressed that the Palestinian people will rebuild schools, hospitals and national facilities the moment the war ends.

Al-Hayek stressed the call on the international community to intervene to protect the educational process, saying: “The international community is required to intervene to protect the right of Palestinian children to education, especially in light of the occupation’s repeated targeting of schools, which threatens to create an uneducated generation.”

The war in Gaza and the exacerbation of educational loss

Retired educational supervisor Mazen Al-Dabs told Al-Quds that the war in Gaza has not only affected lives, but another war is taking place in the field of minds as a result of the war’s impact on education.

“Just as we have lost lives, there is also a huge loss in education, as the repeated wars continued with the effects of the Covid years, which made two academic years lost for students in Gaza,” Al-Dabbas said.

Al-Dabbas pointed out that the repeated wars in Gaza in recent years have destroyed many schools and turned the remaining ones into shelters, which were not spared from destruction either. As a result, education has been deeply affected at all levels.

He added: “Last academic year was a lost year due to the Al-Aqsa Flood War, which created a huge educational gap among students. As the war continues, the current academic year faces the same fate, which raises questions about how to address this educational loss.”

Educational loss and its psychological and social effects

Al-Dabbas explained that war not only affects the achievement of curriculum goals, but also affects the psychological health of students. Children who are exposed to psychological trauma suffer from lack of concentration, anxiety, and depression, which directly affects their academic performance.

He added: “Displacement and loss of family members increase psychological stress, and repeated interruptions in school cause a lack of basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics, which makes it difficult to compensate for this loss over time.

He pointed out that future generations will face greater challenges in obtaining good education and better economic opportunities, in light of the accumulation of this educational loss.

Possibility of compensating for educational loss and available strategies

Although the situation in Gaza is catastrophic, Al-Dabbas believes that life must continue in other ways, pointing to some strategies that can be followed to compensate for the educational loss, including:

Non-formal education: NGOs can play an important role in providing non-formal education programmes, such as tutoring and summer programmes in camps or any available places for children to gather.

Employing technology: Technology can help provide educational resources online, even in difficult times.

Teacher training: The remaining teachers must be trained on how to deal with children who have been exposed to psychological trauma and provide them with psychological support.

Flexible Curricula: Develop flexible curricula that fit current circumstances, with a focus on life skills for affected students.

International and local cooperation to address educational loss

Al-Dabbas stressed the need for the international and local community, especially UNESCO, to cooperate with the Ministry of Education to support schools and students in Gaza. He said that financial and educational support can contribute significantly to restoring education in Gaza, stressing the importance of having specialized programs to support students’ mental health to help them overcome trauma and regain confidence in life and education.

Al-Dabbas concluded by saying that education is a fundamental right for every child, and there must be a collective effort to restore what students in Gaza have lost due to the war. While it may be difficult to fully compensate for the educational loss, there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the impact and promote sustainable learning opportunities through collaboration and local initiatives by teachers in displacement camps and wherever the opportunity exists.

The destruction is done deliberately and deliberately.

For his part, media professional and academic Muhammad Anis Al-Muhtaseb from Amman said, “The systematic destruction of educational institutions in Gaza represents the destruction of the hopes of an entire generation for education and obtaining certificates that qualify them to obtain job opportunities and raise the standard of living for themselves and their families.”

Al-Muhtaseb added: “It is clear that this destruction is being carried out deliberately and insistently by the Israeli occupation, realizing that education is a sign of civilization and distinction, which the occupation does not want, as it seeks to make future generations of Palestinians unable to confront the colonial settlement project in Palestine.

Al-Mohtaseb added: “Despite the suffering they have been experiencing generation after generation for a hundred years, the Palestinians have been able to achieve the highest rate of education and the lowest rate of illiteracy, outperforming the countries around them. This was the reason for this people’s adherence to their cause and their homeland, offering martyrs in order to liberate their homeland and live with dignity on their homeland like other peoples of the world. This is the reason for the occupation’s anger and the force of fire and construction with which it confronted the educational infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.”