40 Gazan students to arrive in UK to begin university scholarships within weeks

Around 40 students from Gaza will arrive in the UK over the coming weeks to begin funded university scholarships, it has been reported.

Nine will arrive from the war-torn region as part of the UK government-funded Chevening scheme which allows international students to study one-year master’s degrees.

Others will arrive on fully funded scholarships through other private schemes, which Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has approved.

Israel will still have to grant permission for each individual student to leave Gaza. And in order to obtain a UK visa, applicants must provide a photograph, as well as their fingerprints.

Reports by the BBC suggest some of the Gazan students will have their biometric tests carried out in another country before travelling to the UK to begin university.

The centre used by the UK to carry out these tests in Gaza was shut after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.

A Home Office source described the plan as “complex and challenging”, but said that the home secretary had made it “crystal clear” that she wanted the students to take up their places in the UK”.

BBC News spoke to a 27-year-old doctor, offered a place to study global health policy at the London School of Economics, who said:”I was highly emotional and so happy to be awarded the scholarship.

“It gave me the energy to keep working. But most of the time, I avoided talking about it, because of the indefinite uncertainty.”

Mahmoud is reportedly  one of nine students in Gaza who received emails from the UK government informing them that it was working to facilitate their evacuation.

Originally from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Mahmoud said he dreamt of studying in the UK from a young age.

When the war broke out, he volunteered in the plastic and reconstructive surgery unit at the al-Shifa hospital before working on temporary wards across Gaza. He  said he hopes his degree will one day help rebuild the territory’s fragile healthcare system.

Mohammed, 25, is reportedly another Chevening scholar,  has been offered a chance to study for a masters at the University of Glasgow.

“This opportunity is not an escape. It is a responsibility to study, to learn and to return stronger for them,” Mohammed told the BBC.

“What I learn in Glasgow will not stay in lecture halls. It will be carried back to serve people who need it.”