541,000 students in Gaza return to school — Al Jazeera
In the Gaza Strip, children have returned to in-person learning in temporary schools set up in tents after nearly three years of interruption due to the war and population displacement. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, about 541,000 students returned to education in Gaza with the start of the school year on September 19, Al Jazeera English reports.
Rana Totah, who was displaced with her family from the Zeitoun area to al-Katiba in western Gaza City, took her two sons to one such school. She said that during the war, the children attended informal classes organized by volunteers irregularly, as families had to prioritize safety and basic needs. The children also carried water.
Damaged schools
According to UNICEF estimates, nearly 98% of school buildings in Gaza have been damaged since October 2023, and more than 93% of them require major repairs or complete reconstruction. About 700,000 children aged four to 17 have missed nearly three school years of formal in-person learning, including about 420,000 who have had no in-person classes at all.
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In January, the ministry reported that 317,332 students were attending in-person educational spaces, schools and learning initiatives. Another 120,000 children were enrolled in virtual schools taught by teachers from the West Bank.
Learning without desks
Math teacher Nesma Nahid Abu Asim teaches sixth graders in a tent: the children sit on mattresses and hold notebooks on their laps. She noted that students often arrive without stationery and textbooks, while there are almost no desks or chairs.
More than 300 children from nine camps for displaced persons study at the Ahbab-Shujaiya school near the port area of Gaza City. First- and second-grade students sit on the ground and write on pieces of cardboard. School principal Inaam al-Batrikhi said classes run from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. due to security risks, including shelling from the sea. According to her, the school needs notebooks, stationery, desks and chairs, while rainy weather could make learning in tents impossible.
