Mohammed from Education Without Chains Explains How Financial Barriers in Gaza Because of Ongoing Genocide & Scholasticide Affect the Ability of University Students to Graduate
Mohammed Abuiwaili, the co-founder of Education Without Chains and a recent graduate with a Bachelor’s in Medical Laboratory Sciences from Al-Azhar University Gaza, describes in this clip the insurmountable financial barriers caused by ongoing genocide. This financial barrier before October 2023 made it difficult to be able to pay tuition fees and complete university education. Now, as genocide continues, many more Gaza university students are stuck in limbo, having no ability to either pay outstanding tuition fees to be able to graduate or continue and finish their degree courses.
About Education Without Chains
The Education Without Chains survey came about in August 2025. Mohammed Abuiwaili, a recent graduate of Al-Azhar University in Medical Laboratory Sciences, was connected through UK student activists to Sanaz Raji, a migrant campaigner and academic researcher in England. Initially, the student activists led Sanaz to believe that Mohammed was having an immigration problem coming to the UK. However, upon speaking to Mohammed directly, Sanaz realised that the problem was not related to immigration, but rather educational barriers because of scholasticide and ongoing genocide in Gaza, creating insurmountable difficulties in paying tuition fees. Mohammed connected Sanaz with Shaker Albuhaisi, another graduate of Al-Azhar University, who also had outstanding tuition fees that needed to be paid to receive his graduate certificate.
As migrant academic scholars and students, Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) viewed the educational exclusion that both Mohammed and Shaker were experiencing because of genocide as something similar to the exclusion that migrant students also experience because of state violence as a result of the Hostile Environment Policy, draconian border regimes and financial precarity caused by the rapidly more stringent immigration laws. URBC made a collective decision to use some funds intended for legal casework for migrant students in need of urgent support to pay for the outstanding tuition fees owed by both Mohammed (£744.33) and Shaker (£297.73). Clearing these outstanding tuition fees helped Mohammed and Shaker receive their certification of graduation. This, in turn, allowed Shaker to commence a scholarship with Scholarships for Ghazza to study at University College Dublin in Ireland. URBC also supported Shaker with a laptop and some additional funds for living costs for both Mohammed and Shaker.
In semi-regular Zoom meetings with URBC, both Mohammed and Shaker underscored the financial difficulties of university students in Gaza. Through these discussions, Sanaz indicated that establishing a survey to understand the true extent of funding problems caused by scholasticide and the ongoing genocide was vital in helping others outside of Gaza understand the problem and work to support students affected and help rebuild Gaza’s higher education system. Thus, Education Without Chains, a campaign within URBC, was born. Working collaboratively, Mohammed, Sanaz, and Shaker launched the Education Without Chains Survey online to university students in Gaza on 6 October 2025. Mohammed and Shaker helped circulate the study through university contacts via word of mouth and through university Gaza student WhatsApp groups. The survey ran for 2 months and 25 days, concluding on 31 December 2025, and received 627 responses. Later this month, the study’s findings will be published with recommendations.
