Campaigners have spoken of their “relief” after the government announced that it will renew a scheme to evacuate Gazan students to take up places at UK universities.
Last year ministers helped evacuate more than 100 Gazan students with offers at UK universities but the scheme was riddled by delays and uncertainty.
A ceasefire was announced between Israel and Gaza last year but more than 1,000 people have died in Gaza since then, and students are still unable to freely leave the strip.
This week foreign secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the government would again step in to help evacuate students with offers to study in the UK. This includes those participating in the prestigious Chevening scholarship, run by the Foreign Office to fund studies for individuals with leadership potential, as well as students on other fully funded scholarships.
Nora Parr, a volunteer at the Gaza Scholarship Initiative and academic at the University of Birmingham, told Times Higher Education that it was a “relief” and “good news” that the scheme has been renewed, adding that the Gazan students were “so excited” to hear the announcement.
