Gaza's Students Face a Near Impossible Test to Study Abroad
Palestinians are turning to Duolingo to get the English certification needed to get scholarships. But adhering to the app's rules has become increasingly difficult after two-and-a-half years of war.
By the time she sat down to take the test, Sara Serriea had been living on lentil soup for days.
It was a hot Wednesday morning in June 2024. Dozens of exhausted people crowded a makeshift cafe in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza. Dizzy from hunger, she tottered her way to a slightly quieter corner, opened her laptop, and clicked the cheerful button colored in baby blue that launched the Duolingo English Test.
Serriea had been preparing for this moment for about eight months – months marked by hunger, repeated displacement, and heavy bombardment. Her father had borrowed the $65 for the test from a friend. “We do not like asking for help, even when we are starving,” says Serriea. “But he did it for me.”
A video explains the rules. “Make sure you have a steady internet connection,” says a friendly voice. “Sit down in a well-lit room with no distractions,” it continues, while the video shows a happy student behind a desk as a red alarm clock and a gray cat disappear in a magic puff that looks a bit like an explosion. And finally, an encouragement: “Remember, just do your best!” The green owl winks, a certificate appears in its wing with a pop of confetti. The test begins.
A few minutes later, it is already over.
Serriea’s connection dropped. The test is invalid. A message informs her that she needs to purchase a new test. The baby blue button now only says: “Buy now.”
Thousands of Palestinian students like Serriea are trapped in Gaza. The announcement of a so-called “ceasefire” seven months ago has done little to improve their lives, students say. Strikes continue. Once repelled, diseases like scabies and lice spread. Doctors warn of weakened immune systems while humanitarian organizations accuse Israel of blocking essential medicines. Fresh produce and proteins are difficult to get. On March 19, the Rafah crossing with Egypt resumed partial operations, but few Palestinians are permitted to leave, and even when they are, it’s mostly for medical treatment.
“I wish I could get cancer,” says Rami Sultan, a 26-year-old Palestinian in Gaza. “Maybe then they would let me out of this cage.”
But despite being trapped, students like him and Serriea are trying to be ready in case they are allowed to leave, which means obtaining an English proficiency certification. “I made the decision when the genocide started,” Serriea says. “Studying abroad became the only way to pursue my dreams and build a better life.”
Even among students fleeing conflict worldwide, Palestinians in Gaza face a uniquely steep climb. From Syria to Ukraine, students could generally count on international relief efforts to help a population at war rescue its young, and on diplomatic channels to assist the new generation navigate a complex bureaucratic path to continue their education abroad.
Gaza is different. For these students, there is no path. No dedicated visas, no biometric enrollment offices, no unified international response. Students like Serriea are caught in a bureaucratic hell they are bent on leaving, if they’re allowed to leave at all. They navigate on word of mouth, dodge ever-present scams, and rely on wholly inadequate solutions – like Duolingo.
Because test centers that administer the top English-proficiency exams, IELTS and TOEFL, have physically left the Strip due to the war, students in Gaza use Duolingo’s online version of the English test to obtain the certification that foreign universities require. But for Palestinians living in crowded tents, with unstable connections, and the constant threat of bombs, it’s nearly impossible to adhere to Duolingo’s testing rules. The result is that the app keeps failing them for violations students say are automatically detected by a company that has recently replaced its contract workers with AI. The result is also that students like Serriea and Sultan purchase the same test again and again, with money they could have used for much-needed food or other supplies instead.
Escaping Israel’s Scholasticide in Gaza
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