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Shockat Adam
Main Page: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)Department Debates - View all Shockat Adam's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(2 days ago)
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Mr Lammy
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing Yara to the attention of the House. Of course we want to see bright students like her able to achieve their ambitions. We are reliant on Israeli permissions and on students having a full scholarship, but what I can do is ensure that the Minister for the Middle East meets my hon. Friend to discuss this case in detail.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Along with thousands of other children, my youngest son is today going back for his first day at school. Unfortunately, more than 660,000 Gazan children—those who have not been butchered or maimed irreversibly by the Israel Defence Forces—are being denied schooling for the third consecutive year. That is not surprising, given that 97% of schools have already been virtually destroyed. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the next generation of Palestinians can access education, alongside launching a bespoke visa system that enables students to come to study here in the UK? If not, why not?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise with the House the plight of children in Gaza. Yesterday I mentioned my concerns about malnourished children and what that does for their educational outcomes. Yesterday he will have heard the Home Secretary and myself undertake to do more to support students with full scholarships to come to our country. Of course, as the hon. Gentleman would expect, I press the Israeli Foreign Minister on these very same issues.