OPT: Thousands missing out on education in Gaza
GAZA CITY, 5 July 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Photo: Suhair Karam/IRIN 
Nuha Abed Rabbo, 9, on her way to an UNRWA elementary school in eastern Gaza
About 39,000 child refugees in Gaza will not attend UNRWA schools this year, since the agency is unable to build or re-build schools due to the Israeli blockade, damage sustained during the 23-day Israeli offensive (27 December 2008 - 18 January 2009) and population growth, UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness said in Jerusalem.
“My sons have trouble learning due to the large number of children, usually over 40 per class,” said Noa Ashi. Her sons Tareq, aged 9, and Mohammed, 7, attend New Gaza Elementary School (A) run by UNRWA in Gaza City. “The classrooms are small and three children share each desk,” she said, adding that Tareq and Mohammed attend school only four hours a day.
Israel imposed an economic embargo on the Gaza Strip after a Hamas takeover in June 2007 and in retaliation for the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization and says its import restrictions on items such as cement, steel and most building materials are to prevent Hamas developing weapons or fortifications.
allowed into the Stripevery day. The UN has said this is far from sufficient.
The Israeli blockade affects every aspect of human existence and remains the biggest challenge to UNRWA operations in Gaza, the head of UNRWA, John Ging, told IRIN. The blockade has destroyed the economy, making 80 percent of the population dependent on UN handouts, he said.
Infrastructure is also in a state of collapse: 80 million cubic litres of untreated sewage is pumped into the Mediterranean Sea each day, and 90 percent of the water is undrinkable by World Health Organization (WHO) standards, according to Ging.
To make matters worse, UNRWA is 25 percent underfunded, lacking US$100 million out of its $500 million budget, he added. The agency is only
