Gaza’s teachers are rehabilitating students back into education

Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip has left children unable to attend school for a full academic year.

While its bombing campaign has destroyed school buildings and wiped out all of the Strip’s universities. Any remaining academic centres have been damaged and are being used as shelters for displaced Palestinians and are therefore unable to function as schools.

Fearful that the next generation will be left without the basic education they need to tackle challenges they will face in the future, a group of young Palestinians set up a school for primary aged children in the displacement tents.

Iqra Institute of Education teacher, Dina Nayef, explains that the initiative hopes to address the challenges facing Palestinians living in displacement camps. “As a result of the stop in education and displacement of people, pupils’ education levels have regressed greatly,” she explained.

The school is set up among the displacement camps, which has allowed parents to send their children to it as they do not have to travel long distances to reach their classrooms, Nayef tells MEMO.

“We tried to offer this support to children so it’s a safe learning environment and entertainment

as the war has deprived children of their right to education.”

At present the school is made up of four classrooms separated by a wooden frame which holds up the nylon ‘walls’. The limited space, however, means older children are not catered for.

“We hope we will be able to provide classes for years 3-5 and expand our initiative. If we get support from others to help make the centre bigger and broader, we can provide classes for everyone,” Nayef says.

The video incorrect lists the school as being in Deir Al-Balah, the correct location is Nuseirat.

READ: Palestinian students persist amid Israel ‘education genocide’ in Gaza