Beyond the Headlines: What is the future for Gaza’s children living without education?

It is back to school for children all around the world, but not in Gaza.

Eleven months of war in the strip have devastated lives, homes, hospitals and infrastructure. Education has been virtually erased for hundreds of thousands of pupils. The classrooms in which they once learnt and played are now being used as shelters for displaced families, turning them into spaces they fear.

About 186 schools have been severely damaged or completely destroyed. More than 92 per cent have sustained some damage, with a third of UN-run schools having been directly hit. Children have been without education for 12 months and they’re now about to miss a second year.

More than 10,000 pupils and at least 400 teachers have been killed since October last year, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education. Higher education has not been spared either, with all of Gaza’s universities destroyed or damaged. But it’s not just about the sheer scale of it. Many of Gaza’s intellectuals and academics have been killed. Notable educational landmarks have been completely erased as well.

Human rights groups are calling it scholasticide or educide - the complete wipeout of education.

On this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher hears from Asma Mustafa, a teacher in Gaza who is providing informal schooling to displaced children. She also speaks to Randa Ghazy, Mena media manager at Save the Children, about the long-term consequences of Gaza’s decimated education sector.

Below is the full transcript of this episode:

Asma Mustafa: Children around the world are going back to school again for the beginning of the year, while in Gaza, which is the most dangerous place, according to a Unicef report, we are not going back to school. I feel very, very sorry for the future of those children because there is no education. There is no normal, regular education for them.

Nada AlTaher: Asma Mustafa has not been spared from the horrors of the war. She is a highly accomplished English teacher in Gaza.

AM: I was the Global Teacher Award winner in 2020, the Best Teacher in Palestine in 2022. I was displaced from the north of Gaza to the south eight times.

NA: The first time she was displaced, Asma was forced to seek refuge at a shelter run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. She was then displaced to the south, to live in a tent in Rafah, then to another tent in Khan Younis, and another tent in Deir Al Balah, and eventually to Nuseirat camp - where she also lives in a tent - in central Gaza.

AM: The children of Gaza have lost their right of education since the start of the war on October 7, as the schools closed their gates. There is no education any more in Gaza. My pupils always tell me they miss their schools, their friends, their teachers. I do too. That's why I launched my initiative on November 4 last year, a purely educational initiative. I called it A Story Every Day.

NA: Apart from the lives, homes, hospitals and infrastructure wiped out in 11 months of war, education has also become a distant memory for thousands of pupils. The classrooms they once learnt and played in have become places of fear, where they found shelter from bombardment - and sometimes didn’t.

About 186 schools have been severely damaged or destroyed completely. More than 92 per cent have sustained some damage, with a third of UN-run schools having been directly hit. Children have been without an education for a whole year and they’re now about to miss a second year.

More than 10,000 pupils and at least 400 teachers have been killed since October last year. Higher education has not been spared either, with all of Gaza’s universities destroyed or damaged, stopping more than 88,000 men and women from pursuing their degrees, with some just a semester from graduating. It’s not just about the sheer scale of the damage. Many of Gaza’s intellectuals and academics have been killed and notable educational landmarks have been erased.

Rights groups are calling it “scholasticide” or “educide” - the complete wipeout of education.

This is Beyond the Headlines and I’m your host Nada AlTaher. This week, we look at Gaza’s decimated education sector and how this could have consequences for generations to come.

AM: I decided to be the school for the displaced children around me when their schools were off. I decided to be their books when their books were burnt. I decided to be their pens when their pens were broken. I decided to be the educational process, as long as I am alive.

NA: In the absence of formal schooling, Asma is using her educational initiative to offer displaced children some form of learning and some semblance of normalcy, despite the conditions they face.

AM: I gather my pupils around me everyday, to tell them a story. The story is full of morals, teaching them about life, how to deal with hard situations. I also teach them critical thinking. I want them to think of solving their problems.

I mainly want my pupils to jump, to dance, to sing, to perform dabka [a traditional Palestinian dance], to hold their pens, to write, to read, to draw, to paint, to colour the paintings in the papers. I want them to speak about what happened to them. I also want them to tell stories to each other.

I want to make a collaborative, friendly community full of love and positive emotions among the children, because this way I think I teach them life, and I want them to do the same when they go back to their tents with their families. I want them to be leaders in their communities. I want them to be full of positive emotions. I want to take them away from the war, the sound of rockets and bombs everywhere. I want them to forget the war for a while, to return to a normal life, as if we are pretending to have a normal life.

NA: But even a tented school needs supplies, the basics: a chalkboard, some chalk, pencils, paper. Getting everything has become a massive challenge. And even when they are found, they’re several times the price they were before the war.

There’s also the unprecedented trauma that children continue to endure. And the psychological damage that educators and experts have to undo.

AM: I think the children of Gaza need time to recover psychologically. And they need time even to breathe again, to hold their pens again. They need time to be able to write again. And I think the official, responsible education specialists in Gaza, and outside Gaza, would have much to do. They need to work harder to rebuild the psychology of children in Gaza again.

NA: It’s not just the children who are scared and losing sleep every night. Parents are terrified about their children’s futures. Asma says they’re aware that this war will have life-long consequences.

AM: I remember a mother once cried when I visited her, looking for the children in the tent. She simply said, “Where are you teachers? Where is the education? I'm so scared to lose my son. He now works with his father.” He's just nine years old. Can you imagine? He may never go back to school again.

I felt pity towards her and towards hundreds and thousands of mothers like her.

NA: Asma has dedicated herself to doing everything she can to help. Initiatives like hers have sprung up across the enclave to address the need for children to feel slightly normal again. But she makes it clear that this is not a substitute for formal education.

AM: We are just providing them with what is called “first aid education”. It's exactly like what is happening in medicine. We perform first aid, until we go back to school again.

That will help teachers to continue with those little kids. But still, it’s not not going to be an easy mission during the trauma or after the trauma.

NA: We’re talking about 625,000 children who have been out of school in Gaza this year. How do we wrap our minds around that number? And what does it mean for an entire generation to miss out on a whole year of school? I asked this question to Randa Ghazy, regional media manager for the Mena region at Save the Children.

Randa Ghazy: Education, just like every other aspect of life in Gaza, is under attack. All schools have been closed for more than 10 months. Nearly 90 per cent of all school buildings and all 12 universities have been damaged or destroyed. These are unprecedented numbers. And since last October, education facilities have been used as shelters by people whose homes have been destroyed or those who have been forced to move to avoid hostilities.

But this has not prevented Israeli forces from targeting schools. That's another very concerning aspect. Eight schools were hit by Israeli air strikes in just 10 days in early July, for example. And last month was also deadly, with five UN schools hit in 10 days, including in Israeli military designated safe zones.

It is clear that, as others have said, schools in Gaza are not just schools any more. They've become shelters and often graveyards.

But from my perspective, the most horrifying thing is that the destruction of the Palestinian education system is systemic. There's a clear pattern. There's a name for it: scholasticide.

It's not just the destruction of the educational infrastructure, but it is also the obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, pupils and staff. We need to think that Palestinian schools have historically served as vital hubs for cultural conservation and communal life through learning.

They've really played a crucial role in preserving Palestinian identity, especially in the face of displacement and occupation. So this systematic targeting of schools is an attack on the very fabric of Palestinian society.

The destruction also extends to heritage sites, including libraries. The central archives of Gaza, for example, containing 150 years of history, have also been hit.

And I'd just like to add that this is not just affecting children in Gaza. It's important to remember that children in the West Bank as well, including East Jerusalem, have faced increasing violence and restrictions since October 7. This has created new obstacles for all pupils in the West Bank - we're talking about more than 700,000 pupils.

We need to remember that Palestinians in the West Bank have faced significant challenges in accessing quality education for decades. It's not just since October 7. And when we're talking about challenges, we are including violence against teachers and pupils, Israeli military operations, raids and settler violence. But in a way, the events following October 7 have exacerbated an existing education crisis.

NA: When the Ministry of Education announced recently in the West Bank that schools are going to open for children in Gaza, we spoke to a lot of families there who told us that their own children aren't even ready to go back to school due to the severe trauma they’ve suffered.

What is the impact of war on the learning abilities for younger kids being out of school for such a long time and being subjected to the amount of violence they've witnessed?

RG: Experts say that when children are prevented from learning for a long period, they're learning does not just stop, it's also likely to regress. We've been saying for nearly a year that this is a war on children. What Palestinian children are living through is horrifying.

Certainly, all children in Gaza are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support and will suffer the trauma of this war throughout their lives. Children in Gaza do not live the typical lives of children. Every few years, they are forced to watch their family members, their neighbours and friends being killed, which causes anger and frustration in them. They often tend to be more aggressive, suffer from depression, anxiety, continuous traumatic stress disorder, and the lack of education certainly makes things worse.

We know that prolonged periods without learning significantly jeopardises children's futures. It disrupts their sense of stability, it contributes to their anxiety, to uncertainty in a society that was already facing a mental health crisis. And it was all compounded by several challenges, including the impact of the blockade on their daily life.

Education has many roles in a child's life, including children living in conflict zones. In the first phase of an emergency, education can really protect children, because it gives them a sense of stability, a chance to regain essential cognitive skills, but also life-saving learning, such as how to stay safe from exploded bombs or how to prevent the spread of disease, which is sadly now one of the emergencies in Gaza.

What's more, education is very important in Palestinian culture, whether there are job prospects or not. But now children are malnourished, they have drones buzzing overhead 24 hours a day, and this is also affecting their sleep. And yet, our colleagues in Gaza are telling us that children often tell them that going back to school is their highest concern.

This is why we have set up learning spaces in Gaza with shelters, and we are delivering life-saving lessons around exploded ordnance, family separation, what to do during an active shooting, disease prevention. But we're also distributing recreational kits, which include items like puzzles and stationery. We hope this will create a support system for them to cope with the severe psychosocial impact of the violence.

Children react in very different ways to being exposed to war. They may sometimes introduce a traumatic element into playtime, some may play games involving soldiers, or violence. Others may draw violent scenes. Some may display regression or violent behaviour. Some experience nightmares or bedwetting. Others don't want to leave their mother's side.

In our centres, we try to use different approaches to tackle this, like expressive art, problem-solving games, simple breathing techniques. But it's a very long journey, and it's very challenging when forced displacement, bombs and loss after loss continue to disrupt their sense of safety.

Our colleagues are telling us that it's very hard. Our colleagues themselves have been displaced several times, so they're also struggling with their own mental health. This is important work that we need to continue doing, but it's incredibly challenging. In Gaza, it's as if trauma has been passed down from one generation to the next, and they have no time for self healing. It's almost a cycle that never ends.

NA: The school building itself has become an object of trauma. I spoke to one Gazan mother who sought shelter for two weeks in one of the classrooms. And that place was where she felt fear and where everyone felt sick and where her husband was kidnapped, where her children didn't feel safe. So schools themselves - classrooms, where children are supposed to be happy and learn and play with their friends - have been converted into something traumatic.

Can the education system ever actually go back to what it was? Can a school become a happy place for children again in Gaza? What would it take for that to happen?

RG: There are many things that need to happen. First of all, a ceasefire, a sense of security and stability.

School buildings in Gaza are currently providing refuge in emergencies, but a lack of alternative accommodation can cause a barrier to education even after the war ends. Even if hostilities ended tomorrow, it does not mean children will be able to access education right away. The widespread damage caused will require extensive work, starting with rubble removal. That will take several months. Rebuilding learning spaces and providing temporary housing are all key elements of getting children back to school.

And finally, learning centres will need to be fit for purpose. Sadly, as of June, doctors in Gaza said that as many as 3,000 Palestinian children have lost limbs in the war. So it's a new generation of amputees who have a right to education and there will be a need for adaptive teaching, learning materials and assistive devices to ensure children with disabilities are allowed to return to school and resume their learning.

NA: The Palestinian Ministry of Education has announced that the school year will begin on September 9. To what extent is this actually possible right now in Gaza, with so many schools destroyed, with violence continuing? And how likely is a situation where temporary learning spaces with remote learning are actually going to be effective?

RG: We have to do our best to make sure these learning spaces are there, that we reach communities and let them know that this is a possibility.

But the situation at the moment is catastrophic. There are repeated relocation orders, the so-called evacuation orders from Israeli forces. These are forcibly displacing families several times. here isn't a base for families where they can get a routine, including sending their children regularly to learning spaces.

Another challenge is security. Just today people were killed while queuing to get some bread outside a school, so there is nowhere safe in Gaza. As long as this continues, there will be families who will be afraid to send their children to informal schools, because of the risks that the children would be taking just by walking to a different venue.

And generally there is a lack of supplies, there's a lack of pretty much everything. There are still several obstructions to aid deliveries. The crossings are still closed. The scale of the emergency is so huge that if the violence doesn't stop, it will be very difficult to reach every child in need. Many children will be left out.

NA: With so many fathers killed, and families having lost everything, do you feel more children are likely to be enrolled in the workforce, instead of going back to school? Do you think there's going to be an option for them to choose education, rather than to potentially support their families?

RG: That is sadly a reality in emergencies around the world. We know from previous crises that the longer children are out of school, the greater the risk that they do not return. In the Gaza Strip, 40 per cent of the population is aged 14 or under. We're talking about a huge segment of the population whose future is now at risk this year.

There were nearly 40,000 high school pupils who were unable to take their final exams, effectively halting their transition to higher education. Girls without safe schools this year are facing additional risks, including gender-based violence and child marriage. There are older students with international scholarships who have lost those opportunities and who are being prevented from attending university abroad. This war is depriving another generation of Palestinians of their future.

We know that unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip have now reached nearly 80 per cent since the war started last October. That is a shocking number. And many of the Palestinians killed are men who were the only breadwinners in their family.

This means that even once the war is over, a huge number of families will be struggling financially. It's very likely that there will be school dropouts and the risk of child labour is much higher than it was before.

NA: What can be done immediately and in the long term to support Gazans in a way that makes sure they continue with their education in a safe environment, psychologically and physically?

RG: This is a very difficult question. The first thing is an immediate, definitive ceasefire. The second thing is for the whole aid community to continue supporting the Palestinian people.

To do that, there should be no obstruction to aid. The Israeli authorities have to ensure unfettered humanitarian access is possible. They have an obligation. They have a responsibility. The crossings should be open.

It's imperative for the Israeli government to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law regarding access to education. The law is very clear. Schools are considered civilian objects and should be protected from attacks.

In the future, when Gaza is not a big breaking news story, it's crucial that funding for reconstruction continues to be a priority.

There have been other escalations of violence, but nothing of this scale. So there will be a need for funds directed specifically to education, as one of the key drivers to build the resilience and the future of Palestinian children. I'd also like this to be seen holistically as a very important priority, not just for the children of Gaza, but also for the children of the occupied West Bank.

Education can certainly save lives. It's crucial. It provides a foundation for resilience. But a ceasefire and an end to the occupation are the only ways to start rebuilding communities who have lost everything.

NA: That's it for Beyond the Headlines for this week. Stay up to date on this story and everything else Gaza related at TheNationalNews.com. This episode was produced by Ban Barkawi, Arthur Eddyson and Rakan Abed El Rahman. Yasmeen Altaji is our assistant producer and Doaa Farid is our editor. And I’m your host Nada AlTaher.