Gaza Herald – The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reported that more than 600,000 children in Gaza have been deprived of formal education for over two years. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini highlighted that these children continue to live under deep psychological trauma amid rubble, and restoring access to safe learning environments remains a top priority.
Currently, around 65,000 children attend UNRWA temporary learning spaces, while nearly 300,000 others receive basic lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic via digital platforms.
UN agencies, including UNESCO and OCHA, estimate that approximately 745,000 students in Gaza have been cut off from formal education since October 2023, with nearly 88,000 university students seeing their studies completely halted. Experts warn that this prolonged disruption risks creating a “lost generation” of Palestinian children and youth.
Reports indicate that 95-97% of schools and educational facilities in Gaza, including government, UNRWA, and private institutions, have suffered partial or total damage. Hundreds of schools remain unusable and require full reconstruction or major repairs.
Specialists warn that the long-term educational disruption, combined with school destruction and restrictions on UNRWA operations, has led to unprecedented learning loss equivalent to 3-5 years of schooling, threatening the region’s human development and social stability.
