Hundreds of thousands of Gaza students return to education amid exceptional circumstances

Hundreds of thousands of students in the Gaza Strip returned to education today, Saturday (September 19, 2026), with the start of the 2026/2027 academic year in exceptional circumstances imposed by three years of war and the widespread destruction of schools.

According to what the German News Agency (DPA) reported on the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Channel, about 700,000 male and female students have begun their new academic year, although the majority of schools are still out of service.

Returning to school does not necessarily mean sitting again in classes. While some students continue to learn remotely, others are receiving their lessons inside tents or temporary spaces, with most educational buildings damaged or destroyed and other schools turning into centers to shelter displaced people.

The plan of the Ministry of Education in Gaza aims to provide education to about 350,000 students during the current year, compared to about 270,000 last year. As for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), it adopts a model that combines direct attendance and distance learning to reach hundreds of thousands of students.

The Director General of Public Relations and Media at the Ministry of Education in Gaza, Ahmed Ayesh Al-Najjar, said that the Ministry has developed a plan for flexible education, based on the fact that children’s right to study cannot be suspended until schools are rebuilt.

The plan includes using schools that are still viable, in addition to temporary education centers and study points inside tents, as well as digital platforms and means in areas where the necessary capabilities are available.

Al-Najjar stressed that resuming studies does not mean that all students have returned to traditional school buildings, in light of the significant damage to the educational infrastructure in the Strip.

For his part, UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna announced the opening of 86 learning spaces in conjunction with the beginning of the new academic year. He explained that the agency intends to expand the scope of in-person education gradually, according to the availability of safety conditions, appropriate places, teachers, and basic services.

Thus, Gaza's students begin an academic year in which classes do not resemble what they knew before the war. Seats and classrooms are no longer available for many, while educational institutions are trying to keep studies going with the tents, temporary spaces, and distance learning technologies they provide.