ICSPR Releases a Policy Paper: The Collapse of the Educational System in Gaza Threatens the Loss of Five Academic Years for an Entire Generation After the 7 October 2023 War
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Press Release
ICSPR Releases a Policy Paper: The Collapse of the Educational System in Gaza Threatens the Loss of Five Academic Years for an Entire Generation After the 7 October 2023 War
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) has issued a new policy paper titled: “On the Reality of Education in the Gaza Strip After More Than Two Years of the Genocidal War That Began on 7 October 2023,” prepared by the researcher and youth activist Alaa Dawood, which shows that the educational infrastructure – both physical and human – has almost completely collapsed, depriving more than one million students of their right to safe and regular education, and threatening the future of an entire generation with the loss of no less than five academic years.
The paper reveals that the educational system in the Gaza Strip has been subjected to systematic destruction that targeted schools, universities, educational centers, book warehouses, and curriculum stores, in addition to archives and data facilities, alongside the targeting of educational and academic staff, and the disruption of the educational process for the longest period in the modern history of Palestine. This comes amid the continued closure of crossings and the prevention of entry of paper, educational supplies, technical devices, computers, and teaching tools — which are essential for resuming the educational process.
ICSPR warns that such a prolonged interruption of education carries catastrophic national consequences, most notably the decline of academic competency levels, an increase in school dropout rates, the growth of child labor, higher rates of early marriage among girls, and the expansion of value and normative erosion within society, transforming education from a guaranteed right to an impossible luxury.
ICSPR affirms that education is not a secondary service, but a fundamental right guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant international treaties. It is also a prerequisite for building a society that can achieve recovery, sustainability, and socio-economic reproduction after the war. The Commission calls on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to rescue this vital sector, through:
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Reopening all crossings fully and unconditionally to allow the entry of books, paper, printers, and educational supplies.
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Enabling universities and schools to gradually return to functioning, and providing platforms for compensating the massive educational loss.
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Supporting emergency education and distance learning projects inside and outside displacement centers to ensure that the interruption does not continue.
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Providing urgent scholarships for Palestinian university students inside the Strip to ensure the continuation of their academic path.
ICSPR stresses that rebuilding the educational system is a national and humanitarian priority, and that any delay in reopening schools and universities will lead to additional years of loss for this age group which constitutes the future of the Palestinian people. The Commission calls on the United Nations, UNESCO, the European Union, and the League of Arab States to take urgent action to ensure the reconstruction of this sector and to save an entire generation from falling into the cycle of ignorance, exclusion, and marginalization.
