Walaa Jamal, 33, from the Shati refugee camp struggles to cover the educational gap for her four children amid school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
She uses her old smartphone to connect them with their teachers remotely to receive daily instruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach child has a different educational level and needs to connect with her or his teacher at the same time, so I organize this by allocating time for each of them,\u201d Walaa said.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s crippling 13-year blockade of Gaza has resulted in regular electricity shortages and Internet disruption, compounding the education challenges.<\/p>\n
On March 5, the Palestinian presidency declared a state of emergency, which included closing all educational institutions, as part of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of September, the Gaza-based government decided to reopen the schools. However, the detection of COVID-19 in the community for the first time led to another shutdown. There was not enough time to distribute books to the pupils.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemote learning is exhausting as the mobile screen is too small, but there is no other option. The children don\u2019t have books and they need to follow up their lessons or they will be uneducated,\u201d said Walaa.<\/p>\n
Three of her children are in primary school and the other is in kindergarten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my children get homework from their teachers on WhatsApp they write it on paper, I take photos for the answer and then I send to the teacher over WhatsApp to get their evaluation and feedback,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
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Electricity outages<\/p>\n
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Walaa\u2019s husband is a tailor in the Shati camp, but he cannot afford a laptop or additional devices as he lives on a limited daily wage that does not exceed $6 because of the Israeli restrictions and dire economic situation in Gaza.<\/p>\n
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 29 percent of families in Gaza have only one laptop in their household.<\/p>\n
In addition, statistics show 73 percent of Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip have basic Internet service in their house, while 78 percent households possess at least one smartphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had this mobile phone for four years and now it is processing very slow, and with eight hours of electricity outages we can\u2019t get it charged fully for the mornings,\u201d Walaa said.<\/p>\n
Poor Internet connections are an additional obstacle. Um Mohammed Abu Amra, 27, from the Deir al-Balah area of the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera she needs to connect to the Internet on her phone so her five children can continue their studies, but the Internet service is extremely poor in her area.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I lost electricity and I can\u2019t connect to the Internet from home, so I buy an Internet card for 1 Shekel [$0.3] to connect for one or two hours on public access points that are available in the area,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn other days, if I have electricity, a technical problem at the Internet provider can prevent my children from accessing their classes. This is tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2018Under heavy pressure\u2019<\/p>\n
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Israel still bans 3G data service in Gaza, which would make life easier for pupils and their parents to follow lessons and send homework to teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool starts in our house early in the morning, this is a heavy load added on my shoulders. I need to cook, to teach the children, and to take care of my two-month-year-old child,\u201d Um Mohamed lamented.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Health, Gaza has recorded 4,440 COVID-19 cases, including 26 fatalities, since March. Current active cases stand at 1,762.<\/p>\n
Some neighborhoods in Gaza are closed and guarded by police officers because of coronavirus outbreaks there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe remote learning was essential to provide the minimum level of education to the students during the lockdown, and the Ministry of Education is still discussing the return of children to their schools,\u201d Salameh Maarouf, director of the Gaza-based government\u2019s media office, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Maarouf said authorities decided to allow the return of high school students last week temporarily to provide them with textbooks and to assess the ability to restart classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry of Education is under heavy pressure during this time that has forced it to record many lessons at all educational levels, and to open thousands of virtual classes through WhatsApp and Gmail to connect teachers with their pupils,\u201d said Maarouf.<\/p>\n
Students may attend part-time with the number of students in a class not exceeding 20, he said.<\/p>\n
Amal Mohamed, 45, an Arabic teacher at the UNRWA school in Gaza City, bemoaned the learn-from-home process.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemote learning didn\u2019t achieve its purpose for Gaza pupils due to limited abilities of their families. Only 10 out of 40 students attend my daily classes and follow up through WhatsApp,\u201d Mohamed said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome students delay submitting their homework as they don\u2019t have Internet or electricity, or because their parents don\u2019t have proper mobiles. Others can\u2019t follow the classes on a daily basis, while others don\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Hana Adli<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Walaa Jamal, 33, from the Shati refugee camp struggles to cover the educational gap for her four children amid school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She uses her old smartphone to connect them with their teachers remotely to receive daily instruction. \u201cEach child has a different educational level and needs to connect with her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,4],"tags":[296,861,1093,1069,1079,966,320,1349,639,178,84,1348],"yoast_head":"\n