AMMAN — With the start of the new academic year, Gaza’s students are facing the beginning of their third year without formal education. After losing two consecutive years due to war and the collapse of the education system, an entire generation now risks falling permanently behind.

 

International agencies warn of a looming “lost generation”, while Jordan and its institutions have intensified efforts to keep learning alive for Palestinians in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank.

 

Since the outbreak of war in October 2023, education in Gaza has virtually collapsed. UNRWA has reported that more than 625,000 school-aged children and some 90,000 university students have been denied access to schooling, while more than 90 percent of schools and higher education institutions have been destroyed or rendered unusable, many of them converted into shelters.

 

UNESCO echoed the concern, warning that Gaza risks becoming home to an entire generation deprived of learning opportunities.

 

In response, Jordan has taken a central role in creating educational alternatives, launching a mobile platform in October 2024 with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and the World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE) to provide free access to the Palestinian curriculum for students in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

 

The agreement, signed in Amman and attended by Jordan’s Minister of Education, aims to secure continuity of learning for over 600,000 students, particularly in Gaza, and reached more than 230,000 within its first three weeks.

 

Complementing these efforts, the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST) introduced the “El Hassan Learning Platform” in early 2024. Launched by the National Center for Innovation, the platform aimed to mitigate educational losses and provide mental-health support to students affected by the conflict.

 

The HCST’s Secretary-General, Mashhour Refai, highlighted its role in bridging the educational gap, and the concept was discussed in a September 2024 meeting with UNRWA to explore further collaborative opportunities.

 

The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) launched the “Supporting University Students from Gaza” campaign to collect donations to cover tuition fees for about 200 Gazan students enrolled in Jordanian universities.

 

The campaignaimed to ease the burden on families whose financial resources had been cut off by the conflict and ensure that university students did not see their futures interrupted.

 

UNRWA, in its latest statements, has reiterated that safeguarding education in emergencies is essential to preventing long-term instability. UNESCO, meanwhile, has expanded programmes in Gaza shelters, offering psychosocial support to children and caregivers in Khan Younis and Rafah to mitigate the trauma of war.

 

Rebuilding Gaza’s education system will be a monumental task that extends far beyond reopening schools. It will require reconstructing destroyed institutions, retraining teachers, restoring infrastructure, and supporting students who have endured years of disruption.

 

For now, Jordan’s digital platform, JHCO’s educational initiatives, and scholarship programmes stand as vital stopgaps. Yet the challenge is immense, and the risk of irreversible loss grows with each passing academic year.

 

For Gaza’s students, education is more than a classroom, it is a lifeline, a means of preserving identity, and a hope for a future beyond war. Jordan’s sustained support highlights regional solidarity, but global commitment will be critical to ensuring that Gaza’s children are not condemned to a life defined by interrupted dreams.