UNICEF Scales Up Gaza Learning Drive to Reach 336,000 Children

UNICEF stressed that education is not competing with food, water or shelter assistance.

UNICEF has launched one of the largest emergency education responses in the world, scaling up its Back to Learning programme in Gaza to reach 336,000 children amid the near-collapse of the territory’s education system.

“This is not a ‘nice to have’. It is an emergency,” UNICEF said, warning that almost two and a half years of attacks on education have left an entire generation at risk.

An education system on the brink

UNICEF says 60% of school-aged children in Gaza have no access to in-person learning, while more than 90% of schools have been damaged or destroyed. The crisis extends to early childhood: over 335,000 children under five are now at risk of severe developmental delays following the collapse of early learning services.

“Education in Gaza was once a source of pride, resilience and progress,” UNICEF said. “Today, that legacy is under attack — with schools, universities and libraries destroyed, and years of progress erased.”

Learning as lifesaving support

Launched in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, UNRWA and local education partners, Back to Learning focuses on rapidly restoring access to education through:

• Expanding a network of multi-service, non-formal learning centres

• Delivering education alongside mental health and psychosocial support

• Embedding strong governance and due diligence in a highly complex operating environment

UNICEF currently supports more than 100 learning spaces across Gaza, providing children with opportunities to read, write and build basic numeracy skills — while also offering safe spaces to play, recover and regain a sense of normality.

“These centres are not just classrooms,” UNICEF said. “They are places to breathe, feel human again, and reconnect with health, nutrition and protection services.”

Education alongside humanitarian aid

UNICEF stressed that education is not competing with food, water or shelter assistance.

“This is not either/or,” the agency said, pointing to its delivery of one million thermal blankets, hundreds of thousands of winter clothing kits, the opening of over 70 nutrition facilities, and ongoing efforts to restore water and wastewater treatment systems.

In Gaza, UNICEF argues, learning is lifesaving — providing routine, safety, vital information and access to basic sanitation facilities that many shelters lack.

Urgent funding appeal

Demand far exceeds capacity, with long waiting lists at every learning centre. Communities are setting up makeshift classrooms in tents and damaged buildings, and children are arriving even without places.

To reach 336,000 school-aged children for the rest of the year, UNICEF says it urgently needs US$86 million — roughly US$280 per child per year, including mental health support.

“Nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18,” UNICEF said. “If children are not at the centre of recovery plans, there will be no recovery.”

Protecting Gaza’s future

“Every child denied learning is a future engineer, doctor or teacher lost before they’ve had a chance to shape their world,” UNICEF said.

Back to Learning is designed as a bridge — not a substitute — to the full restoration of Gaza’s schools, keeping education alive until children can return to formal classrooms.

“This is how hope becomes practical,” UNICEF said. “It’s how a future gets rebuilt.”