Children in Gaza have slowly begun returning to makeshift classrooms after months of disruption caused by conflict. But the return to school is far from normal. Many classrooms lack basic furniture, textbooks are missing, and learning materials are extremely limited. Lessons are being held in tents, damaged buildings, and community shelters, wherever a small safe space is available for teaching and learning.

I am writing about this because education is one of the first casualties of war, yet it remains one of the strongest symbols of hope. When children return to classrooms without books, notebooks, or proper school buildings, it shows both the hardship they face and their determination to keep learning. For students sitting in safe classrooms elsewhere, it is important to understand what education means in conflict zones. This story is not just about missing books, it is about childhoods interrupted, teachers struggling to keep lessons alive, and families holding on to the belief that education can still offer a future, even in the darkest times.

Life Inside Makeshift Classrooms

Across many parts of Gaza, regular school buildings have either been damaged or are being used as shelters for displaced families. As a result, teachers are conducting classes in open spaces, tents, and half-destroyed structures. Children often sit on the ground, using pieces of cardboard as writing boards.

Most students do not have access to proper textbooks. Many lost their school bags, notebooks, and uniforms while fleeing their homes. Teachers are forced to rely on verbal lessons, writing limited notes on small boards, and sometimes even drawing letters in the sand for younger children.

Despite these conditions, the attendance of children shows how deeply families value education, even during crisis.

Teachers Struggling to Keep Learning Going

Teachers in Gaza are facing immense pressure. Along with personal losses and trauma, they are trying to restart education with almost no resources. Lesson plans that once depended on books, smart boards, and printed worksheets are now reduced to basic oral teaching.

Some teachers collect scrap paper to distribute among students. Others rotate a few shared pencils among an entire class. There is also a constant emotional challenge, as many children show signs of fear, stress, and grief in the classroom.

Yet, day after day, teachers continue to show up because they believe that school offers children a sense of routine and emotional safety, even in unstable conditions.

Impact on Children’s Mental and Physical Wellbeing

The absence of proper learning tools is only part of the struggle. Many children are dealing with hunger, displacement, and the loss of family members. Concentration in class becomes difficult when basic needs are not met.

Health experts say that prolonged exposure to conflict severely affects a child’s mental development. Schools, even makeshift ones, play a vital role in helping children cope by offering a structured environment and social interaction with peers.

However, without books, stationery, and stable classrooms, the learning gap continues to grow wider for these students.

Role of Aid Agencies and Local Volunteers

Humanitarian organisations and local volunteers are trying to support education in whatever ways possible. Some groups distribute limited school kits containing notebooks and pencils. Others set up temporary learning centres in safer zones.

United Nations agencies working in the region have repeatedly highlighted the urgent need for educational supplies, trained counsellors, and safe school spaces. But access restrictions and ongoing tensions make large-scale support extremely difficult.

Despite these challenges, community volunteers, many of them young adults, have stepped in to help teach basic reading and maths to children who have been out of school for months.

Why Education Cannot Wait

For children in Gaza, education is more than just completing a syllabus. It is a lifeline to normality and a hope for a better future. Every month without schooling increases the risk of long-term dropout, child labour, and emotional damage.

When children return to classrooms without books, it shows both the seriousness of the crisis and the urgency of restoring full educational support. A generation without education is a loss not only for Gaza but for the entire world.