DaysofPal– While students around the world return to classrooms, Gaza’s children face a grim reality: a third consecutive school year lost as war reduces schools to rubble and shelters for the displaced. With education systems collapsing, children are left without learning, safety, or a clear future.
In Gaza City, the sounds of morning bells have been replaced by airstrikes. Walls that once displayed timetables now bear only the names of the dead. The UNRWA reports that over 90% of schools in Gaza are either destroyed or serving as shelters, leaving more than 650,000 students without access to formal education.
Palestinian Ministry of Education spokesperson Sadeq al-Khudour said the war has denied over 630,000 students their right to education since October 7, 2023, including 58,000 who were supposed to start first grade this year. He added that more than 25,000 children have been killed or injured, at least 10,000 of them students.
For survivors like eighteen-year-old Nidaa Abu al-Ata, dreams have faded. “Two years of my life have been lost. I don’t dream much anymore. I just want to study without shelling, without fear,” she said.
Other students never lived to see another school year. Mohammed Taysir, who dreamed of becoming a teacher, was killed when his home was bombed. Fifth-grader Mais Ramadan died before she could hear the school bell again. Siblings Jamal and Tuqa Abu al-Ata, who wanted to be an engineer and a teacher, were killed alongside their entire family.
Psychologist Dr. Abdullah al-Khatib warns the impact goes beyond academics: “Education is not just lessons; it’s where children build character. Without it, they risk dropping out, falling into child labor, even crime. A generation without education is a generation without a future.”
Efforts to hold online exams or teach in tents collide with harsh realities—no electricity, no safety, no stability. Observers stress that saving Gaza’s education system requires more than emergency plans; it demands ending the war, rebuilding schools, and giving children the chance to reclaim their stolen childhoods.
As the war grinds on, Gaza’s children face a silent tragedy: the destruction of their education, their dreams, and their future, with no clear path to recovery in sight.
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