After nearly three years of war, children in the Gaza Strip face a long road to recovering lost learning, with significant gaps in reading, writing and mathematics, destroyed schools, and psychological and living conditions that make regular attendance difficult.
Two education experts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said addressing the learning losses suffered by Gaza's children could require programs lasting several years, beginning with assessments of what each child already knows and what they still need to learn.
Reading and Writing Difficulties
While in Gaza, Dr. Ahmed Kamal Junina, head of the English Department at Al-Aqsa University, witnessed the effects of disrupted education through his own children and conversations with relatives and parents of schoolchildren.
He found that one of the most serious problems was that many children lacked even basic reading and writing skills.
"I believe we are facing profound learning losses that continue to accumulate over time, with the extent varying from one child to another," Junina, currently a fellow-in-residence at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The prospect of returning to school after nearly three years of war raises questions about children's actual learning levels, the limited hours available for instruction and how to design programs that allow them to continue their education without falling further behind.
The gaps include skills children previously acquired but have since lost through lack of practice, as well as foundational skills others never had the opportunity to develop.
Even when students are promoted to higher grades, weak reading skills can prevent them from keeping up with other subjects, allowing new difficulties to accumulate on top of unresolved learning gaps.
According to Junina, children have also lost the structure of school routines and daily interaction with teachers and classmates, experiences that help shape their personalities and develop social and life skills.
To illustrate the limited learning opportunities available, Junina cited a UNICEF survey conducted between December 2025 and January 2026, covering 2,071 households in Gaza.
The survey found that 68% of children aged five to 11 had participated in educational activities for three months or less between October 2023 and the time of the survey.
That figure reflects the duration of children's participation in education, however, rather than the extent of their learning losses, which would require direct assessment.
Needs That Must Be Addressed Before Learning Can Begin
A child's ability to benefit from education can be undermined by unaddressed physical or psychological needs.
Junina cited a case documented by War Child, a Netherlands-based organization supporting children affected by conflict, involving Karim, a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
After losing his father and home, Karim struggled to participate in activities and remain at a learning center.
With psychological support, group activities, remedial education and eyeglasses to address a vision problem, he gradually began participating with greater confidence.
Junina said the case illustrates the importance of addressing needs that can determine whether a child is able to engage with teachers and benefit from lessons.
The UNICEF survey provided further evidence of such challenges, with parents reporting sleep disturbances, social withdrawal and behavioral changes among their children, underscoring the need to consider their psychological and social well-being when schooling resumes.
"I don't think we can understand what a child experiences in the classroom without considering the circumstances of their life outside it," Junina said.
Where a child sleeps, whether they feel safe, whether they have space to study and whether someone is available to help with schoolwork all influence their ability to concentrate and continue learning.
Junina also witnessed the effects of instability among his university students.
Some had their studies repeatedly disrupted by displacement, while others waited until nighttime to find a quiet environment in which to work. They also struggled to obtain internet access, charge their phones and access educational materials.
Although these experiences relate to university education, they illustrate how difficult simply accessing a lesson has become, even before students can begin following and understanding it.
Lessons From Earlier Programs and the Limits of Comparison
Previous experiences suggest that remedial education can produce substantial improvements in foundational skills.
Junina cited a UNICEF-documented program from 2021, completed by 5,000 children in grades one through four in Gaza.
Participants' average mathematics test scores rose from 37% before the program to 95.5% afterward.
However, the differences between conditions during that program and the current situation mean its results cannot be used to estimate how long educational recovery will take today.
"We are dealing with an education system that has lost most of its schools and facilities, in addition to the killing, displacement, bereavement, hunger and harsh living conditions experienced by teachers, children and their families," Junina explained.
"We therefore cannot use the 2021 experience to estimate how long children will need to recover from the effects of the current war."
The program nevertheless demonstrates the potential benefits of remedial interventions, provided that recovery efforts are designed to continue for years, with their objectives and outcomes regularly reviewed.
Junina warned against turning the process into a race to complete curricula, administer examinations and promote students to higher grades.
"The goal is for children to genuinely learn and acquire the skills they need to continue their education without accumulating further gaps," he said.
Teachers as Partners in Recovery
Such programs require teachers who can continue working despite facing the effects of war, displacement, loss, financial hardship and psychological pressure themselves.
Junina considers stable incomes and psychological and professional support for teachers essential to restoring education, enabling them to work consistently with children and respond to the traumatic experiences they have endured.
According to Junina, the first priority for educational recovery is "ending the ongoing attacks and killings, ensuring the safety of children and teachers, and providing safe places they can reach and where they can learn."
He said education should continue in temporary learning spaces while damaged schools are repaired and children's basic needs are met, allowing them to attend classes regularly.
Developing and implementing recovery plans also requires meaningful participation by local education professionals.
"Most importantly, Palestinian teachers and educational institutions must play a central role in developing and implementing recovery plans, with the participation of students' families, because they understand children's needs and living conditions better than anyone," Junina said.
When Lessons Are Consumed by Revision
In classrooms and temporary learning spaces, everyday challenges can prevent remedial education plans from translating into sustained progress.
Raed Abu Makhda, a specialist in school administration and education in emergencies, explained to Asharq Al-Awsat how interruptions in attendance prevent teachers from building on skills children have already learned.
"We begin teaching a skill, then attendance is interrupted, so we have to review it instead of building on it. A large part of the available time ends up being spent revisiting material that has already been taught," he said.
For this reason, simply counting missed school days is not enough to measure a child's learning losses.
Even on days when classes take place, lessons may be short or irregular, while children may arrive exhausted, hungry or frightened, reducing their ability to benefit from the available instruction time, Abu Makhda explained.
Teachers face additional constraints in temporary learning spaces.
"Noise and the close proximity of different groups can make listening and concentrating difficult, while limited space restricts activities, group work and the ability to give each child individual attention," he said.
Tents also provide inadequate protection from changing weather conditions and may lack desks, blackboards, textbooks, teaching materials and suitable sanitation facilities.
Shortened school days further reduce the time available for instruction, practice and assessment. Lessons may end before teachers can establish whether children have understood the material or provide additional support to those who are struggling.
Abu Makhda summarized the limitations of this approach: "A tent may provide a place for lessons, but it cannot, on its own, provide the conditions of a school capable of addressing accumulated learning losses."
Grouping Children by Skill Level
Abu Makhda believes educational recovery should begin with diagnostic assessments of children's reading, writing and mathematics skills.
Children should then be grouped according to their abilities and provided with regular remedial instruction, clear learning objectives and continuous monitoring of their progress.
This approach requires training teachers to manage students with different learning levels, providing appropriate educational materials and allowing sufficient time for practice and assessment.
A child's age or assigned grade should not be taken as proof that they possess the corresponding skills without first establishing what they can actually do.
The ability to recover lost learning varies according to age, previous educational attainment, the length of interrupted schooling, and psychological and living conditions.
Certain skills may improve within months if children can attend classes consistently, while addressing accumulated learning gaps could take several years.
Abu Makhda stressed that these are conditional educational estimates, not guaranteed timelines for recovery.
Consistent schooling remains essential to preserving any progress.
"Continued interruptions mean that a child is trying to recover lost learning while simultaneously falling further behind," he said.
Who Faces the Greatest Risks?
Learning gaps have different consequences depending on a child's age and educational stage.
In the early grades, weak foundational skills affect performance across other subjects. Simply understanding a question can become an obstacle to following a lesson or completing a test.
As Abu Makhda explained: "A child who cannot read the question will be unable to demonstrate what they know, even if they understand some of the content."
Older students face different risks.
According to Abu Makhda, the need to work, family responsibilities or losing hope of completing their education may cause them to leave school permanently.
Children with disabilities, as well as those who have experienced injuries, bereavement or repeated displacement, face additional difficulties because of shortages of specialized services.
For these reasons, Abu Makhda believes remedial education programs must include efforts to identify and follow up with children who have stopped attending school or are at risk of dropping out.
Success should be measured by what children have actually learned to read, write and understand, alongside their attendance and continued participation, rather than relying solely on enrollment figures or the number of lessons delivered.
"Recovering lost learning requires time, stability and resources," Abu Makhda said.
"Talking about educational recovery without providing these conditions places responsibility on children and teachers for circumstances they have no power to change."
