The offensive in the Strip prevents 39,000 Gazan students from taking the final secondary school exam

June 23. (EUROPA PRESS) –

More than 39,000 Gazan students have not been able to take the secondary school leaving exam scheduled for this Saturday as a result of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian authorities have reported.

“Due to the ongoing genocide, more than 39,000 students in Gaza have been denied the right to take their ‘Tawjihi’ exam, considered a major milestone for Palestinians. Therefore, the Ministry has done everything possible to make it happen in Egypt and other countries,” explained the Ministry of Education, based in the West Bank, on its X social network account.

The organization has assured that “these efforts” aimed at “preserving the rights to life, security, health and education” allow displaced students to take the exam, despite “the escalation of attacks against (their) people in Gaza.”

According to figures provided by the Palestinian authorities, 50,097 high school students took the exam this Saturday, including 1,320 displaced people from the Gaza Strip. However, this only represents 56 percent of the total number of young Palestinians – some 89,000 – who should have applied.

Since the Israeli military offensive in the Strip began, more than 625,000 Gazan students do not receive education or have access to a safe learning environment due to school closures and attacks, according to the Global Education Cluster, a forum aimed at by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the NGO Save the Children.

Last April, an evaluation carried out by the same forum indicated that 85.8 percent of educational centers in Gaza have suffered some type of damage to their structures. Furthermore, the Ministry has confirmed that 286 of the 307 public school buildings have been damaged due to the Israeli military offensive.

According to data from the Palestinian authorities collected by the Wafa news agency, at least 8,000 schoolchildren and 350 teachers have died in Gaza. On the other hand, there are more than 12,500 injured students, 2,500 of whom have suffered disabilities.

The spokesperson for the Ministry, Sadiq Jadour, has reported that an assessment of the damage suffered by educational institutions will be carried out and places will be identified where temporary classrooms can be established. Gaza would need at least 4,500 additional classrooms to accommodate all students, according to preliminary calculations.