For Gaza’s new academic year, a fitful start

Most Arab students have already enrolled at university and are buckling down with new assignments. But many of their counterparts in Gaza are taking their seats in damaged – or overflowing – classrooms more than a month after the Gaza conflict ended, write Rasha Faek and Janelle Dumalaon for Al-Fanar.

The Israeli aerial and ground assault, which killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and injured thousands more, ended on 26 August with an Egypt-brokered truce. But damage inflicted on university and school buildings delayed the start of the academic year – usually at the beginning of September – by three weeks. Some 277 schools in Gaza were affected by the attacks, according to a recent Palestinian Ministry of Education report.

Higher education institutions were also caught in the crossfire: Twelve universities – three public and nine private – were fully or partially destroyed with repairs estimated at US$11 million. Universities say they are struggling because of the damage.
Full report on the Al-Fanar site