Private schools become a costly choice for struggling parents in Gaza

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip — In their tent in central Gaza, Khadija Abu Qados gets her 11-year-old daughter, Jouri, ready for another day at school amid the ongoing Israeli air raids and crippling financial crisis.

The family has been living in a camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah since their neighbourhood, Sheikh Radwan, in northern Gaza, was destroyed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza City last September.

Like their home, the classrooms for Jouri and her 14-year-old sister, Ritaj, at Elyaa’ School are also tents. There are few chairs or desks, so children usually sit on mattresses and carpets when they learn. There is no air conditioning or fans, so the heat makes it difficult for children to focus.

The children have already spent long periods out of school since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023. Online classes were a challenge due to difficulties in internet access during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Now, Jouri and two of her siblings attend a nearby school run by volunteer teachers near their camp, which charges 30 shekels ($8) a month. Even though it is far cheaper than private schools, the modest fee is difficult for the family to afford when food, water and other basic needs come first.

“If I could afford it, I would send them to private school,” 39-year-old Khadija told Al Jazeera.

Before the war, her daughters attended an UNRWA school in Gaza City, where her children performed well and were praised for their achievements.

Now, she watches them study in tents. The conditions may be difficult, but the teachers are helping her children catch up with missed school time.