Al-Aqsa University

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Al-Aqsa University
جامعة الأقصى - غـزة
TypePublic
Established1955
PresidentDr. Kamal Shrafi[1]
Undergraduates25,325
Location
Gaza City
,
Palestine
Websitewww.alaqsa.edu.ps

Al-Aqsa University (Arabic: جامعة الأقصى) is a public university with campuses in Gaza City and Khan Younis, Palestine. Established in 1955 as a teachers' institute before later expanding its curriculum, it is the first and oldest public higher education institution in the Gaza Strip. It caters for some 26,000 students and has some 1,400 employees, 300 of whom are lecturers and professors.[citation needed]

In 2024, the university's facilities were destroyed by Israeli bombardment during the Gaza war.[2][3][4][5]

History

In 1955, when Gaza was under Egyptian administration, a teachers' institute was founded to train teachers at all levels.

It became the State College of Education in 1991 and was renamed Al-Aqsa University in 2001 after it was officially accredited.[6]

In 2003, it joined the Union of Arab Universities and the Palestinian Higher Education Council.[7]

On 16 March 2004, the IDF destroyed a branch campus according to miftah.org.[8] The campus had been disused since 18 January 2001 due to earlier attacks.[8]

During the 2008–09 winter invasion, the university's Tel al-Hawa library was damaged,[9] and a community education facility under construction was destroyed.[10]

A new building containing 32 laboratory spaces was completed in 2022 by the company MECC.[11] Also opened was an early childhood laboratory from the Care (Erasmus+) Project.[12]

In January 2024, a university academic, Dr Wiesam Essa, was killed when his apartment was shelled.[13]

On 17 January 2024, the last university in Gaza was destroyed, Al Jazera and Euro Med Watch reported.[14]

On 6 February 2024, it was reported by Anadolu Agency that the IDF had shelled two university buildings and opened fire on displaced civilians who had taken shelter on campus.[15]

In May 2024, the IDF Military Police opened an investigation into photograph of an IDF soldier sitting reading in front of burning books at the Central Library of the Islamic University of Gaza, which was widely described as the Al-Aqsa University's library.[16][17]

Faculties

  • Faculty of Applied Sciences
  • Faculty of Art and Human sciences
  • Faculty of Education
  • Faculty of Fine Arts
  • Faculty of Media
  • Faculty of Management and Financing
  • Faculty of Sports
  • Faculty of Information Technology

Al-Aqsa University is the only university in the Gaza Strip that offers programmes in the field of media, fine arts , physical education and sports.[18] The faculties offer bachelor's degrees with postgraduate studies on a joint program, established in 1994, between Al-Aqsa University and Ain Shams University, Egypt. The program is on hold now, but there are master's degree programs in a number of faculties in the university.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Position Paper on al-Aqsa University Crisis in the Gaza Strip Archived 2020-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, 27 September 2016
  2. ^ Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (12 March 2024). "European academics condemn Israel's destruction of education system in Gaza". euromedmonitor.org. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Which universities in Gaza has Israel destroyed?". Middle East Eye. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  4. ^ Adler, Jonathan (26 July 2024). "The decimation of Gaza's academia is 'impossible to quantify'". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  5. ^ "The loss and struggle of Palestinian universities". Arab News. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  6. ^ Feuer, Michael (25 August 2021). "Simple Rhetoric, Complicated Realities". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  7. ^ Elshobaki, Naser. "Requirements for Applying DSS in Palestinian HEI - Applied Study on Al-Aqsa University in Gaza" (PDF). HAL Open Science. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Israeli occupying forces destroy a branch campus of al-Aqsa University in Gaza". MIFTAH. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Protection Urged for Gaza Cultural Heritage". American Libraries. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  10. ^ Almeghari, Rami (6 August 2009). "Crippled academia unable to recover in Gaza". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Construction of laboratories building - Al Aqsa University". MECC. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Al-Aqsa University Celebrated The Opening Of The Early Childhood Laboratory". Care. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  13. ^ "In memoriam - Dr Wiesam Essa". University of Manchester. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. ^ "How Israel has destroyed Gaza's schools and universities". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  15. ^ Nadeem, Hosni (6 February 2024). "Israeli army destroys 2 buildings of Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City". AA. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  16. ^ PerryCook, Taija (31 May 2024). "Israeli Soldier Posed in Front of Burning Books at University in Gaza?". Snopes. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  17. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (24 May 2024). "Military Police opens probe after soldiers filmed themselves burning a Quran and other books in Gaza". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  18. ^ "About Al-Aqsa: Overview". Al-Aqsa University. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2024.

References

31°29′0.96″N 34°26′43.96″E / 31.4836000°N 34.4455444°E / 31.4836000; 34.4455444