"Since October 2023, more than 300,000 UNRWA students have been deprived of a formal education, while 97 percent of the agency's school buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the fighting. What were once centres of education are now also being used as shelters by hundreds of displaced families. Reporting from the central city of Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum found families sharing classrooms with children striving to reclaim their futures."
"Inam al-Maghari, one of the Palestinian students who has resumed lessons, spoke to Al Jazeera about the toll Israel's war on Gaza has had on her education. I used to study before, but we have been away from school for two years. I didn't complete my second and third grades, and now I'm in fourth grade, but I feel like I know nothing, al-Maghari said. Today, we brought mattresses instead of desks to sit and study, she added."
About 300,000 UNRWA pupils have been deprived of formal education since October 2023. Ninety-seven percent of UNRWA school buildings were damaged or destroyed, and many are now shelters for displaced families. Four weeks into a United States-brokered ceasefire, UNRWA is reopening schools across Gaza amid ongoing bombardment and severe aid restrictions. Families in Deir el-Balah share classrooms while children resume lessons and cope with lost learning. Student Inam al-Maghari reported missing two years of schooling and feeling academically behind, with mattresses used instead of desks. UNRWA plans to expand temporary safe learning spaces to reach over 62,000 students across 67 sheltering schools.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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