Sabbatical Officers at the Oxford University Student Union (SU) have signed an open letter urging the UK Government “to ensure that students from Gaza who have been offered places or scholarships at UK institutions are able to take up their offers”.
The University of Oxford is one of several UK universities publicly known to have offer holders in Gaza. Visa offices have been shut in Gaza since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meaning that offer holders are unable to provide biometrics necessary for obtaining a UK visa. Border closures mean that offer holders are also unable to travel to neighbouring countries to provide biometrics.
The open letter was initiated by sabbatical officers at the Cambridge Students’ Union. It is addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and senior cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The letter urges the Government to “take immediate action to remove the barriers currently preventing Gazan students from travelling to the UK and accessing the education opportunities they have rightfully earned”.
Speaking on behalf of the Sabbatical Officers, a spokesperson for the Oxford SU told Cherwell: “Students from Gaza have overcome unimaginable horrors to secure their places at UK universities, and it is our responsibility, as their (hopefully) eventual representatives, to ensure that they are able to realise those opportunities”.
Oxford launched a number of programmes to support students and academics from the West Bank and Gaza Strip last year, including the Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme, which supports graduate students affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis – covering course fees and providing a grant for living costs. The University also renewed its long-standing commitment to the Council for at Risk Academics (CARA) fellowship programme.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell: “The University is part of sector-wide efforts to support the arrival of students from Gaza and are in contact with our offer-holders who are facing the greatest difficulty. We hope to welcome several students from Gaza on full scholarships this autumn”.
Gazan students holding offers at several prestigious UK universities wrote an open letter to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy in May, urging the Government to help those struggling to provide biometrics. The Government did not respond.
Other countries – including France, Ireland and Italy – have already provided safe passage for incoming Gazan students.
Cherwell has approached the Home Office for comment.
 have signed an open letter urging the UK Government “to ensure that students from Gaza who have been offered places or scholarships at UK institutions are able to take up their offers”. ){kind=link}