ALL students in Gaza with scholarships for UK universities will receive help in evacuating the occupied Palestinian region to take up their places, the Foreign Secretary has said.
It comes after the Home Office told the BBC that it would work to bring 40 students from Gaza to the UK to take up their fully funded university places – including nine people with Chevening scholarships.
However, that news sparked concern as there were around 80 Palestinians with scholarships waiting to hear if the UK Government would help them obtain visas to take up those places.
The National previously reported on the case of Ibrahim Alghorane, a student in Gaza with a full scholarship to study at the University of Glasgow who was not included in the first 40 to be supported by the Home Office.
Ibrahim warned that he would “lose everything” without rapid action to help him leave the Israeli-occupied region and take his place at university.
Now, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has told parliament that the same support offered to those with Chevening scholarships would be extended to all Gaza students with fully funded places waiting for them.
“I've been working closely with the Home Secretary to ensure that students from Gaza, including Chevening scholars, can secure their UK visas,” Lammy told MPs in response to a question on the issue.
“We're expecting nine Chevening students to start their courses soon, and I'm pleased to say we're extending this support to students in Gaza with full scholarships.”
Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed then raised the case of Yara, a student from Gaza City with a scholarship to study at the University of Sheffield.
“Yara is one of more than 80 scholarship students trapped in Gaza today, displaced again and again with all of her belongings packed into a small bag ready to move at a moment's notice,” Mohamed said.
“Can the Foreign Secretary guarantee that Yara and other students like her will not be left stranded and will be immediately evacuated by the Government in time for their courses to start this month?”
Lammy responded: “I'm grateful to my honourable friend bringing Yara to the House's attention. Of course we want to see bright students like her able to achieve her ambitions.
“We are reliant on Israeli permissions and students having a full scholarship, but what I can do is ensure that the Middle East minister meets with my friend and discusses this in detail.”
Chevening scholarships are a UK Government-funded program that offers future global leaders fully paid master’s degrees at UK universities. It is understood that other Gaza students have scholarships from other sources for a variety of courses across both undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.
Biometrics, including a fingerprint and photograph, are necessary for Gazans to get a UK visa, but the last processing centre in the region closed down amid Israel’s genocidal siege following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The UK Government is set to help make arrangements for the 80 students to be evacuated from Gaza and to complete the biometrics in a third country before bringing them to the UK.
