By Nur Ain Nabilah Rosni & Nur Atiq Maisarah Suhaimi
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- As the world increasingly embraces artificial intelligence (AI) in education, Palestinian students continue to struggle to access basic learning facilities, putting them at risk of falling further behind in the global technological advancement.
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) Senior Lecturer Dr Wan Ab Aziz Wan Daud said the conflict had not only resulted in learning loss but also disrupted the entire education ecosystem, including schools and higher education institutions.
He said the destruction of schools, unreliable electricity supply, limited internet access and a shortage of digital devices were among the challenges faced by students in conflict-affected areas.
According to Wan Ab Aziz, the situation could widen both the education and digital divides, which could eventually develop into an “AI divide” as the technology assumes a greater role in education.
“Technologies such as virtual campuses and digital learning can certainly help ensure that education continues during a crisis.
“However, we also need to be realistic that AI cannot replace basic necessities such as safety, teachers and lecturers, educational institutions, electricity and reliable internet access,” he told Bernama in an interview.
Wan Ab Aziz, who is also the university’s Academic Director at its Centre for Academic Management, said the development of AI in education must be accompanied by greater attention to digital inclusion and technological equity to ensure that its benefits are not enjoyed only by students in other countries.
He said opportunities should also be made available to students studying amid conflict and severe hardship so that they would not be left further behind in the development of educational technology.
The measure of success should instead be based on the extent to which the technology helps develop more knowledgeable, critical-thinking and empathetic individuals who are capable of creating value for society, the country and the world.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) Head of Political Affairs Muath Omer said the destruction of Palestinian educational infrastructure and the lack of facilities continued to hamper efforts to ensure Palestinian children and young people had access to education and digital connectivity.
He said while the global education system was racing towards AI, personalised machine learning and cloud-based classrooms, Palestinian students were struggling for basic physical safety, writing materials and notebooks.
Muath stressed that without urgent intervention, “this gap will lock a generation of Palestinian youth out of the future global workforce and deepen systemic inequality”.
He noted that Palestinian students are not merely facing a digital gap but “they are facing an existential technological isolation.”
According to Muath, before the war, Gaza’s youth were digitally ambitious, tech-savvy and deeply eager to plug into the global digital economy.
“Today, children lack basic digital devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones) because they have either been destroyed under the rubble or sold to buy food.”
Gaza has suffered a near-total blackout of electricity and telecommunications since October 2023.
“Fuel blockades mean that hospitals, water plants, and makeshift spaces rely on scarce, erratic drops of generator power.
“Internet connectivity is severely restricted, fractured, and dependent on fragile, expensive roaming connections or intermittent satellite links,” he told Bernama.
Muath said despite the hardships and threat of Israeli attacks, efforts to keep education alive in Palestine continued, with learning taking place in the small, informal, temporary learning spaces under the rubble of destroyed buildings and refugee camps.
He said these spaces, driven by community resilience and supported by grassroots initiatives, teachers and local volunteers, served as a lifeline for children by providing a semblance of routine, trauma support and psychological stability in an otherwise apocalyptic environment.
“Academically, however, they are severely limited. They lack textbooks, blackboards, stationery, and consistent attendance because ongoing military orders frequently displace children and teachers.
“They cannot replace a formal school system, but they act as a vital bandage against total intellectual stagnation,” he said.
Muath said international support was essential to rebuild Gaza’s education sector, including providing digital learning devices and scholarship opportunities, demanding the protection of educational infrastructure under international law, and holding perpetrators of scholasticide accountable on global stages.
“Actionable support needed includes funding and safely shipping ruggedised learning tablets, offline-storage educational servers containing pre-loaded curricula and solar-powered charging units for makeshift tent-schools.
“Malaysian universities and international institutions can offer fully funded remote scholarships, virtual university placements, and digital cross-enrollment for stranded Gaza university students whose campuses were levelled,” he said.
Muath said Malaysia has always stood firmly with the Palestinian cause, and Palestinians deeply trust its diplomatic voice, public solidarity, and humanitarian networks.
-- BERNAMA