The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Gaza, Palestine, and the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD), conducted a comprehensive assessment of 21 higher education institutions across 38 campuses in the Gaza Strip.
The findings are stark: 95 per cent of university campuses have been affected by Israel’s war on Gaza, with 22 out of the 38 completely destroyed. Of the 206 buildings assessed, 195 were found to be either destroyed or severely damaged, making them non-operational.
The damage, however, extends far beyond buildings. Roughly 120,000 computers and laptops, plus 105 servers, have been destroyed or severely damaged, along with 620 specialised labs and facilities, which undermines the capacity for research and teaching.
On the human front, the assessment reports that 1,112 staff members have either been killed, detained or injured. That’s around 22 percent of the workforce, including a large number of women.
In addition, over 720,000 Palestinian students have experienced a complete interruption in their education during the conflict. Several UN experts accused Israel of committing a “scholasticide” against Gaza, and pointed at a systematic destruction of the education system in the region.
The total estimated cost for reconstruction is USD 373 million.
In response, UNESCO is setting up temporary learning spaces for about 10,000 students and launching a Gaza Virtual Campus, a digital platform that provides accredited courses and virtual classrooms so that higher education can continue despite the destruction on the ground.
