The UK government should be ¡°going out of its way¡± to ensure Palestinian students can take up places to study in the country¡¯s universities instead of ¡°obstructing¡± them, the University and College Union (UCU) has said.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, has written to home secretary Yvette Cooper, accusing the government of ¡°effectively blocking¡± students¡¯ efforts to study in the UK after visa requirements prevented them from obtaining the necessary documents to accept their university offers.

Her letter follows a??article which outlined that Gazan students were being prevented from taking up their places at UK universities?because the ÌÇÐÄVlog Office requires international students to submit biometric data to obtain visas, even though the relevant office in Gaza has been shut since the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens.

The nearest offices for Gazan students to submit the required data are located in Jordan and Egypt ¨C however, they require British government intervention to enable them to leave Gaza.

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UCU noted that this policy puts the UK out of step with other European countries, including Ireland, Italy, France and Germany, which have exempted young Palestinians from requirements to provide biometric data.

Grady writes that despite witnessing ¡°the most horrendous and challenging circumstances imaginable¡±, 80 students from Gaza have ¡°remarkably¡± secured offers to study at UK universities.?

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¡°Despite being tormented, starved, forced to enter shooting galleries to queue for food and water, bombed, and watching their friends and relatives murdered, with their homes and communities turned to dust, they persevered.¡±

Addressing Cooper directly, Grady says that her government should be ¡°going out of its way to ensure these young Palestinians make it safely and smoothly to our campuses in September¡±.

She says the government should expedite the process and introduce a non-restrictive family visa scheme for Palestinians.

According to figures from its Ministry of Education,?90,000 students have lost access to higher education in Gaza?since the war began, with?51 university buildings destroyed?and 57 damaged,?prompting accusations that Israel?is undertaking an ¡°educide¡± against Palestinian education.

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A government spokeswoman told The?Sunday Times?that while they would not comment on individual cases, they ¡°are aware of the students and are considering the request for support. Clearly the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this challenging.¡±

The ÌÇÐÄVlog Office was contacted for further comment.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com