Evacuation problematic and dependent on Israel’s approval amid claims more scholarship students still in dark
Ministers have approved plans to help a further 30 students leave Gaza to take up places at UK universities next month but their evacuation remains uncertain and dependent on Israel’s approval.
It takes the total to 39, after a government commitment last week to work to secure the evacuation from Gaza of nine Chevening scholars with places at some of the UK’s leading universities.
Chevening scholarships are largely government funded and are offered to “exceptional individuals” to study for a one-year master’s degree at a UK university. All 40 students identified by the government have fully funded scholarships.
A Home Office source said it was “a complex and challenging task”. Names would have to be submitted to the Israeli authorities for approval, after which the students would travel to a third country, likely to be Jordan, for visa biometric checks, which are not currently available in Gaza.
