Gaza Strip risks ‘lost generation’ due to ruined schools: UN

Category: Middle East | By: AFSHAN RIAZ | 2025-10-27 14:10:36

🌟 Key Highlights

💔 UNICEF warns of a “lost generation” of Gaza’s children as schools remain destroyed after two years of war.
🏫 85% of schools in Gaza are damaged or unusable, leaving millions of children without formal education.
🕊️ Ceasefire allows only 1/6th of children to attend temporary learning centres.
🪫 Shortage of materials and aid blocks reconstruction of classrooms.
🌍 UNICEF calls for urgent rebuilding to restore hope and stability for Gaza’s youth.

🏚️ “A Lost Generation in the Making”

With Gaza’s education system nearly wiped out by two years of relentless conflict, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, has issued a grim warning — Gaza’s children are at risk of becoming a lost generation.

“This is the third year with no school. If we do not begin a real transition by February, we will enter the fourth year — and then we can truly talk about a lost generation,” Beigbeder told AFP in Jerusalem after visiting Gaza.

He described scenes of devastation across the strip: flattened neighbourhoods, displaced families, and children roaming the streets with no classrooms to return to.

🏫 Education Amid Rubble

A US-brokered ceasefire earlier in October has allowed UNICEF and partner organisations to set up temporary learning centres, reaching only about one-sixth of Gaza’s school-age children.

“They study three days a week — reading, writing, mathematics — but this is far from what we can call formal education,” Beigbeder said.

These makeshift centres are often metal shelters covered with plastic sheets or tents, with cardboard boxes as desks and salvaged boards as writing surfaces.
Children sit on mats or carpets, trying to learn in the midst of trauma and displacement.

“I have never seen everyone sitting properly,” Beigbeder added.

🚷 85% of Schools Destroyed or Inaccessible

Despite the ceasefire, Gaza’s education network remains in ruins:

📚 85% of schools are either destroyed or severely damaged.

🏚️ Many of the surviving buildings are used as shelters for displaced families.

🚫 38 schools are inaccessible, located in zones now under Israeli control.

🏗️ Of the 300 schools run by the Palestinian Authority, 142 have been completely destroyed, while 80 more need urgent renovation.

Before the war, Gaza’s classrooms were already overcrowded, serving a population where half of residents are under 18 years old.

💻 UNRWA Launches Online Learning Amid Criticism

In a bid to reach children remotely, UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) announced on October 18 the start of a “new e-learning school year” aimed at 290,000 pupils.

However, the initiative faces political backlash — with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accusing UNRWA of being a “subsidiary of Hamas,” vowing it would have no role in post-war Gaza.

The war itself began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered months of bombardment that destroyed homes, hospitals, and schools across the territory.

💬 “Education Is Hope”

UNICEF says education must be prioritised alongside food and shelter, not treated as a secondary need.
Beigbeder stressed that without classrooms, books, and supplies, Gaza’s youth risk growing up without stability or purpose.

“Food is survival. Education is hope,” he said.

He added that school reconstruction is impossible without cement, notebooks, and basic materials, which remain blocked at border crossings.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) echoed these concerns, reporting no major improvement in aid access or reduction in hunger, even after the ceasefire.

🧠 Psychological Toll on Children

Beyond destroyed classrooms, UNICEF warns that almost every child in Gaza is traumatised — needing both education and psychological support to recover.

Rebuilding schools, Beigbeder said, is about more than teaching; it’s about restoring a sense of normalcy, safety, and community.

“We must put education back at the top of the agenda — because without it, Gaza’s children will have no future,” he said. 🌍