A/HRC/10/22 page 20 Following the ceasefire, there were delays to the restoration of regular schooling, as insecurity persisted, reconstruction was impeded and numerous people continued to seek shelter in school buildings after being displaced by the fighting.52 68. Continued restrictions on the entry of reconstruction materials into Gaza have also posed serious threats to the right to education for Gazan children and youth, as construction materials have repeatedly been denied entry into the region, and Israeli authorities have insisted on case-by-case approval of all reconstruction projects affecting schools, resulting in long administrative delays.53 69. In addition to the particular violations of the right to education caused by the hostilities that began on 27 December 2008, access to safe and adequate educational conditions in Gaza has faced long-standing obstacles that far predate recent events. Overcrowding in the schools in Gaza had already caused a restriction in the hours of schooling, in order to allow for morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate the region’s 450,000 students;50 this problem has particularly affected the schooling of some 200,000 refugee children in Gaza, who have attended UNRWA schools in the past year.54 Efforts by UNRWA to continue the regular school feeding programme have been hampered by repeated restrictions on the entry of supplies. According to UNICEF, power shortages owing to restrictions on the entry of fuel caused students to gather in classrooms that lacked heating and electricity, as well as light bulbs and other basic supplies, such as paper, chalk and essential equipment for teaching, such as printers and overhead projectors. Higher education has also been affected, illustrated by the denial by Israel, in November 2007, of permission for 670 Palestinian scholars to leave Gaza in order to study abroad, including 6 Fulbright scholars.55 70. Another concern is the fact that, in August 2008, Gaza lost around half of its teachers in Ministry of Education schools after they were fired for striking. Although new teachers have been recruited and trained, public schools were still lacking maths, science and Arabic teachers for all levels, resulting in fewer hours of teaching in these essential subjects. It is estimated that 250,000 students, more than half of Gaza’s student population, in 381 schools were affected by the strike at that time.56 52 “Displaced Gazans seek shelter from the cold”, at www.irinnews.org. 53 Briefing by staff of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs based in Jerusalem, Inter-Agency Consultation on Gaza, United Nations Office at Geneva, 21 January 2009. 54 “United Nations moves to counter deteriorating Gaza education levels”, 17 September 2007 at www.irinnews.org. 55 56 Human Rights Watch, “Israel Blocks 670 students from studies abroad”, 20 November 2007. See Tamer Institute for Community Education, Fact Sheet August-October 2008, and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians Weekly Report No. 276, September 2008.