Ramallah Ma'an - Under the patronage and participation of the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Amjad Barham, a memorandum of understanding was signed today at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education between the Welfare Association and a number of universities in the Gaza Strip (Al-Azhar, Islamic, and Al-Aqsa) to launch a program to support students and university education in Gaza. The memorandum was signed by Minister Barham as the program sponsor, and the Director General of the Cooperation Foundation, Dr. Tariq Amtira, in the presence of the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Dr. Basri Saleh, the Chairman of the National Authority for Accreditation and Quality Assurance for Higher Education Institutions, Dr. Muammar Shtewi, the Assistant Undersecretary and Director General of Scholarships and Student Services, Dr. Shadi Al-Helou, the Minister's Advisor, Dr. Ihab Al-Qabaj, the Assistant Undersecretary for Student Affairs, Mr. Sadiq Al-Khudour, the Head of the Public and International Relations Unit at the Ministry of Higher Education, Mr. Anhar Qatouni, and via Zoom, the President of Al-Azhar University, Dr. Omar Milad, and Dr. Nasr Al-Din Al-Mazini on behalf of the President of the Islamic University, the President of Al-Aqsa University, Dr. Ayman Sobh, and the Chairman of the General Assembly of Cooperation, Mr. Saad Abdul Hadi. The program aims to develop and implement the 'Isnad' program to provide scholarships that contribute to covering the fees for students enrolled in the above-mentioned universities, enabling them to resume their studies, whether remotely or through face-to-face education, as circumstances permit, in light of the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip or beyond. The memorandum also includes cooperation between the two parties to provide support and funding for the program and promote it within their network of relationships with donors and supporters, in addition to setting general guidelines for managing and implementing the program through the two parties, as w ell as coordinating with the relevant authorities to support the program's directions and adopt it. In this context, Minister Barham stressed the ministry's continued efforts to provide relief to education in the Gaza Strip, in light of the ongoing war of extermination waged by the occupation. He pointed out that the Ministry has made strenuous efforts to ensure that Gaza university students resume their education, whether in West Bank universities or through distance learning through their home universities in Gaza, appreciating the efforts of the Welfare Association, which is today contributing to supporting the Ministry's efforts in this regard. For his part, Amtira stressed the importance of this memorandum in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to ensure that students and professors at Gaza universities continue their educational journey despite all the surrounding circumstances. He pointed out that "Cooperation" seeks, through the program, to provide 30,000 scholarships t hat contribute to covering tuition fees for 15,000 male and female students in the targeted universities; during the final years of study, with the aim of helping them graduate. Source: Maan News Agency