Palestine launches e-learning initiative for students in Gaza

The Palestinian Ministry of Education yesterday launched an e-learning initiative aimed at enrolling students in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war on the besieged enclave.

The ministry said in a statement on Facebook that a new website had been set up for Gaza and asked students to register of all ages.

It added that the virtual schools for Gazans are part of a series of interventions expected to begin in parallel with the new academic year on 9 September.

However, the initiative faces many challenges, most notably lack of electricity and internet, especially with the displacement of about 85 per cent of the population, the destruction of the communications and electricity infrastructure and using schools as shelters.

According to UNRWA, 76 per cent of schools in the Gaza Strip have been completely or partially destroyed during the war.

The massive Israeli aggression prevented 39,000 secondary school students from the Gaza Strip from taking the secondary school tawjihi exams last year.

More than 10,000 students, 400 teachers and 150 university staff have been killed during Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, which was launched in October last year.

Since then, more than 620,000 students have been denied an education.

The Israeli war on Gaza led to more than 135,000 killed or wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women, and left more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

Read: Gaza teacher offers ray of hope with classroom in rubble