MPs Urge UK to Let Gaza Scholars Bring Their Children

Published: 13 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

A cross-party group of over 100 MPs has called on the UK government to address the plight of Palestinian students in Gaza who are unable to take up scholarships at UK universities because they cannot bring their children with them.

While the government has evacuated almost 60 scholars with fully funded university placements, others have been forced to abandon their opportunities to remain with their families. The restrictions have left some students facing impossible choices between safety, education, and family unity.

Among them is 26-year-old Loay*, who had secured a place at the University of Oxford to study an MSc in health service improvement and evaluation. Faced with the government’s policy preventing dependants from accompanying him, he chose to remain in Gaza with his wife Hala and their three-month-old daughter, Raseel.

“Postponing my evacuation was heartbreaking,” Loay said. “My wife and our daughter are my whole world. I couldn’t leave them behind in Gaza City, where life has become a daily nightmare. I was offered a lifeline, but what kind of life would it be if I escaped while they remained trapped in this horror?”

Loay now spends his days trying to source a formula to feed his baby while hoping that family reunification will become possible. “My drive to learn, grow and return equipped to serve my community has only grown stronger,” he said.

Fatin, a 31-year-old mother of two with a scholarship to study for an MA in international education and development at the University of Sussex, described the emotional toll of repeated evacuation delays. “Even before recovering from the stress of the first postponement, I started to worry about a second failure, a second heartbreak: what if I cannot leave with my boys yet again?” she said.

The MPs’ letter urging government action includes signatures from figures across the political spectrum, including former Conservative education secretary Kenneth Baker, veteran Labour peer and former child refugee Alf Dubs, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Green MP Carla Denyer.

Abtisam Mohamed, Labour MP for Sheffield Central and coordinator of the letter, emphasised the need for compassionate action. “Britain has a proud record of supporting scholars from conflict zones, and I welcome the government’s action on evacuating scholarship students out of Gaza so far,” she said. “But we cannot allow bureaucratic hurdles to stand in the way of compassion. Students should not have to choose between education and family.”

Under UK immigration rules, most international students are not allowed to bring dependents. Campaigners argue that the extraordinary circumstances in Gaza merit exceptions. Dr Nora Parr, a researcher at the University of Birmingham supporting the scholars, explained that ministerial discretion is essential for families to be reunited.

“The UK has welcomed 58 students under its scholar evacuation initiative and just one child, after ministerial discretion was exercised,” Parr said. “Many scholars are parents who cannot leave without their families. These are not typical circumstances. To continue their education, they will need the government to ensure that fully supported families can reach safety.”

A government spokesperson said, “We are actively supporting students in Gaza. We have already facilitated the departure of a number of students and expect further students to arrive in the coming weeks. Bringing individuals out of Gaza is an extremely complex and delicate operation.”

The MPs’ intervention highlights the human cost of bureaucracy and immigration rules during times of crisis, stressing that ensuring access to education should not come at the expense of family unity. For students in Gaza, the decision to remain with loved ones, even at the cost of their studies, underscores the extraordinary challenges faced by those living amid conflict.