GAZA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- In the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where formal education has ground to a halt, Palestinian teachers are crafting makeshift classrooms in refugee camps, determined to prevent what the United Nations warns could become a "lost generation" of students.
"Our students have missed more than 15 months of schooling, threatening their cognitive and intellectual development," said Farida al-Ghoul, 30, a mathematics teacher now among Gaza's over 2 million displaced residents.
Lacking access to school buildings, al-Ghoul spearheaded an initiative two months ago to establish tent schools in Deir al-Balah's overcrowded displacement camps. These provisional classrooms focus on fundamental subjects -- mathematics, Arabic, and science -- offering a lifeline of education to children cut off from formal learning since the conflict erupted.
"In Deir al-Balah alone, we have hundreds of thousands of displaced people, many of them school-age children," al-Ghoul said. "We couldn't just let them sit idle."
The challenges are enormous. Students sit cross-legged on the ground, with few notebooks or writing materials to go around. Lessons are primarily oral, relying heavily on repetition and memorization. Yet for many students, these bare-bones classes provide a crucial link to normalcy.
"It's incredible to have lessons again and make new friends in our tent school," said Nadda al-Najjar, an eighth-grade student. Like many of her peers, she supplements these lessons with virtual classes provided by the Education Ministry in Ramallah, though she stressed the importance of face-to-face learning.
The educational collapse in Gaza is staggering. According to the United Nations, half of all school-age children are enduring their second consecutive year without formal education. A report from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warns that the war could push Gaza's education system back by half a decade.
The physical infrastructure of education has been decimated. According to Gaza education authorities, at least 352 schools have been damaged in the fighting, with most remaining buildings converted into shelters for the displaced. The Palestinian Education Ministry in Ramallah reports that more than 4,000 students and teachers have been killed since the conflict began.
The current crisis began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel's military response in Gaza has led to over 45,900 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities.
Despite these challenges, 12-year-old Mohammed al-Assar remains resolute. "All students worldwide have the right to continue their education, even in conflict zones," he said. "We're determined to seize any opportunity to learn, even during wartime." ■
