UK University Scholarships Inaccessible to Gaza Students Amid Blockade

Scholasticide and Silence: UK’s Failure to Evacuate Palestinian University Students

Seventy-six Palestinian students from Gaza have secured places at thirty-one leading UK universities, overcoming extraordinary barriers including conflict, displacement, and digital blackouts. More than thirty-five have been awarded full university scholarships, reflecting both their academic excellence and international support for their aspirations. Yet, despite receiving unconditional offers, many deferred from the previous academic year; none are currently able to leave Gaza due to the ongoing blockade and absence of safe exit routes.

Eight students remain unable to formally accept their offers, as internet access has yet to be restored, underscoring how infrastructure collapse continues to obstruct educational mobility. These students had applied to a range of British universities for university degrees in the UK, including programmes in pharmacy, aerospace engineering, and international relations. According to UNESCO, fewer than 1% of Gaza’s youth currently access international higher education, despite widespread academic potential. One such case, highlighted by The Independent, concerned twenty-two-year-old Dalya Ibrahim Shehada Qeshta, who had been offered a place to study pharmacy at the University of Manchester. Her sister, Dalal, had also secured admission to the University of Bristol for a course in aerospace engineering. Although both sisters have family in the UK, they remain unable to leave Gaza due to physical restrictions and a lack of financial resources, despite their eligibility for student financial support in the UK.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, an independent body comprising lawyers, politicians, and academics dedicated to safeguarding Palestinian rights through legal means, joined campaign groups of health workers and lawyers in signing an open letter urging the UK government to take immediate action. The letter called for urgent intervention to facilitate the safe passage of these UK university students, many of whom had secured UK government scholarships or institutional support. Nearly 5,000 academics, including the writer, campaigned the previous week for the Starmer administration to ensure the safe passage of these students from Gaza to the UK. Among the signatories were more than 600 professors, four vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors, 12 deans, eight fellows of the British Academy, and eight recipients of OBEs and MBEs. Their collective action underscored the urgency of protecting access to study in UK programmes for students facing geopolitical barriers.

Observers explained that the technical obstacle was twofold. First, the UK requires applicants to submit biometric data before their applications can be processed, yet the authorised biometrics registration centre in Gaza closed in October 2023. Although a deferral protocol for biometrics was introduced for Ukrainians in the same year, Palestinian applicants reportedly encountered bureaucratic obstruction when making similar requests. While the government claimed that application routes existed, not a single case had been approved, even in instances involving scholars with government-funded university scholarships.

Even if students were granted biometric deferrals, allowing them to complete registration in a third country such as Jordan or Egypt, they would still be unable to leave Gaza. Consequently, it was argued that the UK government must facilitate both biometric deferral and a viable exit route. On 6 August, another letter signed by more than 100 MPs was sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, pressing for urgent intervention.

Attention was also drawn to the fact that the governments of Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, and Belgium had already evacuated students with university offers as part of broader evacuation measures, particularly to provide emergency medical treatment for Palestinian children. Commentators stressed that there appeared to be no justifiable reason for the UK government not to adopt a similar approach, especially given its stated commitment to international students and higher education in the UK. It was widely reported that the profiles and aspirations of many Palestinian students had already been documented. These students, who sat for English language tests, wrote admissions essays, and attended virtual interviews under dire conditions, often from tents or improvised Wi-Fi hubs, remain in limbo as they await action from the UK government. Their applications to UK universities were completed under extraordinary circumstances, reflecting both academic merit and determination.

All eleven universities in Gaza have been bombed by the IDF, leaving 88,000 students unable to pursue their studies. Some institutions were reportedly destroyed completely, while others have been converted into military bases or used as centres for the interrogation and torture of detainees. Observers stressed that enabling the continuation of education for students is essential not only for rebuilding Gaza’s academic infrastructure but also for the wider reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Reports indicated that the matter had been raised several times in Parliament during May and June, yet no changes were made to the requirements imposed on students in Gaza, nor were any viable routes of exit provided. This situation was contrasted with the UK government’s announcement that it intended to evacuate children from Gaza for urgent medical treatment. Nevertheless, by the previous week, only three children had reportedly arrived in the UK for such treatment.

In 2024, a group of academics and administrators from Gaza universities appealed for action, warning that “scholasticide”, defined as the systematic destruction of educational institutions alongside the targeted killing of students and scholars, was continuing to devastate what remained of Gaza. It was argued that unless the UK government enabled the safe passage of these promising students, it would risk complicity in this crime. More than 4,800 UK academics have pledged their support, sharing the view of their colleagues in Gaza that education represents a fundamental human right. Commentators suggested that these are testing times for the UK government, noting that its stance on the matter will serve as a measure of its commitment to universal values such as human rights, justice, and equal opportunity. Whether the government will act to facilitate the entry of these determined young scholars or continue to leave them vulnerable under Israeli military aggression remains a defining question.

Editor's Note:

Britain’s international education policy shows a troubling contradiction. The UK presents itself as a global leader in higher education. It promotes world-class universities, generous scholarship schemes, and promises to widen access for international students. Yet it has failed to act in the case of seventy-six Palestinian students from Gaza. These students have secured places at top UK universities but cannot reach them. The problem is not about academic ability. These students have shown excellence under unimaginable conditions. It is not about support either. More than thirty-five have full scholarships, and thousands of UK academics are standing behind them. The real issue is the UK government’s refusal to adjust its visa and biometric rules to match the realities of life under siege. In 2023, Ukrainian students received biometric deferrals quickly. Palestinian students have only faced silence, obstacles, and rigid procedures. This is more than a bureaucratic failure; it's a moral one. The destruction of Gaza's universities, the targeting of students, and the denial of education itself constitute "scholasticide," as Gazan scholars term it. The UK risks complicity in this destruction, not only of futures but of the universal right to education, if it fails to provide safe passage.

Skoobuzz reported that the issue goes beyond access to UK degrees. It stated that Britain’s reputation for defending human rights, justice, and equal opportunity is at risk. The report noted that countries such as Ireland, France, and Germany have already evacuated their students, and argued that the UK has no valid reason for not doing the same.