UNRWA Concerned Tens Of Thousands Of High School Students In Gaza Can't Take Exams

JAKARTA - Director of Planning of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Sam Rose on Sunday expressed his concern that 39,000 high school students in the Gaza Strip, Palestine could not take the exam.

He denounced the confiscation of education for more than half a million children as something terrible and sad.

"This is another layer of sadness that residents have to go through," he tweeted on his X account, quoted from WAFA June 24.

He also highlighted that more than half a million children in the Gaza Strip have lost their education over the past eight months of the Hamas-Israeli conflict.

Last Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Education announced an Israeli attack that has continued to date, causing about 39,000 students in the Gaza Strip to fail to take the final test.

Initially, the ministry scheduled, the final exam of Tawjihi high school would begin on Saturday this week, including in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement Thursday, a spokesman for the Ministry of Sadiq al-Khudour revealed that at least 450 high school students were killed since the beginning of this year due to Israeli aggression, of which 430 students died in Gaza, while 20 others in the West Bank.

Despite the challenging situation, various efforts have been made to accommodate Palestinian students from Gaza who are currently abroad.

Al-Khudour noted that around 1,320 Palestinian students from Gaza will take the Tawjihi test in 29 Arab countries. Among them, 1,090 students are in Egypt.

The ministry said it had established the largest test space in Egypt. They also set up special spaces in Russia, Turkey, and Qatar. In addition, the test will also be held at the great embassies of the Palestinian State in other countries.