Gaza's high school graduates trapped between shattered universities, closed borders and poverty

Thousands of students in Gaza just heard the announcement of this year's high school examination results, and it signalled the beginning of another struggle for them: securing a place at university.

After spending two years under an Israeli genocide, studying in overcrowded shelters, makeshift classrooms and tents, often relying on mobile phones amid electricity and internet outages, many Palestinian graduates now face a reality in which success in the schools exams no longer guarantees access to higher education.

Universities have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israel; those that have reopened operate with limited capacity; border crossings remain closed for students awarded scholarships abroad; and thousands of families can no longer afford tuition fees after nearly two years of an Israeli genocidal war.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, around 36,000 students sat the first session of this year's high school examinations, with more than 28,000 already applying for university admission.

Gaza's higher education institutions, many of which are still operating from temporary campuses or partially repaired buildings, are struggling to absorb both new students and those whose studies were interrupted by Israel's war.

Universities struggling to reopen

For Nassar Ziada, a graduate from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, the celebration lasted only a few days before anxiety replaced relief.

After the results were announced in late July, he began searching for a university where he could study nursing, only to discover that opportunities had become painfully limited.

"We thought passing the exams would be the hardest part," he told The New Arab. "But getting a university place is even harder. I'm afraid there won't be room for me, or that I'll have to postpone my dream for another year."

Like thousands of students, Ziada spent much of the war moving between displacement sites while trying to continue his education.

Lessons were frequently interrupted by bombardment, power cuts and internet blackouts, yet he persisted, believing university would mark the beginning of a more stable future.

"Everything we endured was so we could reach university," he said. "Instead, our journey has stopped at its gates."

Before Israel's genocidal war, Gaza had 38 universities and colleges serving tens of thousands of students.

Today, according to the Ministry of Education, more than 80 per cent of higher education institutions have suffered total or partial destruction.

Although a few universities have resumed limited teaching after repairing sections of their campuses or opening temporary facilities, administrators acknowledge that available space falls far short of demand, raising fears that many students could lose yet another academic year.

Dreams stranded behind closed crossings

For others, the obstacle is also reaching a university abroad.

Issa Saadallah, from Beit Lahia, graduated in 2025 with a score of 90.5 per cent and secured a scholarship to study outside the Gaza Strip after months of applications and competition.

Yet as the new academic year approaches, he remains trapped inside Gaza because the crossings remain closed.

"When I received my acceptance letter, I felt everything I had lived through during the war finally had meaning," he told TNA. "But a scholarship alone is not enough. The university is waiting for me, and I can't reach it."

Each passing day, he said, increases the likelihood that he will lose the opportunity altogether, despite having earned it through academic achievement.

His predicament is shared by hundreds of students who have received university placements or scholarships overseas but remain unable to travel.

On Wednesday, dozens gathered outside the Solidarity Media Centre, affiliated with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in western Gaza City, carrying banners under the slogan "Between the Dream and the Crossing."

They urged international organisations and relevant authorities to establish a mechanism that would allow them to leave before they lose their places.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Tasneem Tafish said they had already endured years of displacement, interrupted schooling and homelessness, only to face another threat to their future.

"We're not protesting because we want to," she said. "We're protesting because no one has listened. We are simply asking for the chance to reach our universities like any other students in the world."

She described education as a fundamental right that should not remain hostage to political circumstances or closed border crossings.

Poverty places higher education beyond reach

Even for students who can secure university places inside Gaza, another challenge looms: paying for them.

Rahaf Radi from the town of al-Zawaida in central Gaza has dreamed of studying journalism for years. But after Israel's war devastated her family's livelihood, tuition fees have become an almost impossible burden.

"I thought graduation would be the happiest day of my life," she told TNA. "Instead, the first question that came to my mind was: where will I find the money for university?"

Her father lost his source of income during the war, leaving the family dependent on humanitarian assistance.

"I don't want my dream to disappear because of money," she said. "But unless I receive a scholarship or financial support, I don't know how I can continue."

For Rahaf, the delays began long before this year's admissions cycle. She graduated from high school in 2025 but was forced to postpone university for an entire year because displacement and deteriorating living conditions made enrolment impossible.

Watching her classmates begin university while her own future remained suspended was, she said, one of the hardest experiences of the war.

"I was afraid time was passing me by," she said. "I worried I would lose my passion for studying. But my dream of becoming a journalist was stronger than everything else."

This year she plans to enrol, although financial hardship means she will only be able to register for a small number of courses each semester.

"I know it will take longer," she said. "But entering university means the dream is still alive. Even if I take only one or two courses, I refuse to stop again."

Her story reflects the wider reality confronting thousands of graduates across Gaza, where war has not only interrupted education but transformed higher learning into a privilege many can no longer afford.

Experts warn that the crisis extends far beyond damaged buildings. The war has also devastated Gaza's academic community.

More than 450 university lecturers, researchers and administrative staff have been killed, including the presidents of three Palestinian universities, while over 1,100 students who were expected to sit this year's high school examinations lost their lives during the conflict.

For this generation, the challenge no longer ends with passing exams. It begins the moment the results are announced, as students search for a university that can accommodate them, a border crossing that might open, or tuition fees their families can somehow afford.