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The UK government has been accused of ¡°running down the clock¡± as Gazan students face a nervous wait to see if they can take up their offers at UK universities in time for the start of the academic year, with many of those affected unlikely to be able to reapply?because of the worsening situation on the ground.

About 40 students who have full scholarships to study at UK universities are stuck in Gaza because of a ÍøÆØÃÅ Office requirement that international students submit biometric data to obtain their visas. A further 40 are waiting for scholarship decisions and private funding.

With the relevant offices shut since the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens, the Westminster government has been urged to waive the condition or find ways around it.

An??by the British Society of Middle Eastern Studies urging the government to allow students to defer their biometrics data and help them find a safe route to a third country ¨C either Jordan or Egypt ¨C to complete their visa applications and travel to the UK, has now gained almost 5,000 signatures.

¡°There¡¯s a real danger that the government will just let the clock run out, and no decision is a decision against the students,¡± said Nora Parr, ?an research fellow at the University of Birmingham who co-organised the letter.

She said universities have ¡°pulled out all the stops for these students¡± but noted that ¡°some of them will not be able to defer¡±?because scholarship funding ¡°does not roll over year to year¡±.?

The money, Parr said, risks being ¡°stuck back up into the nether regions of a university budget¡±.

¡°So there will be fewer scholarship places next year with an increased demand, as there¡¯s another whole cohort of students who are now trying to finish their high school degrees.¡±

The ¡°psychological toll¡± of completing the application process while under bombardment could prove too much if the students were forced to reapply, Parr said, adding that?although they might have previously had access to Wi-Fi to complete their university interviews and applications, for many, ¡°that¡¯s no longer the case¡±.?

¡°I think for some of them psychologically, the impact [of the delays] will be so damaging that they may not be able to rally the energy and resources to apply again, the conditions in Gaza are getting worse and worse and worse. ¡®Catastrophic¡¯ no longer does justice to the situation.¡±

Further delays could prove fatal, Parr added, noting that some of the students have lost family members in the conflict , ¡°and we are just hoping we don¡¯t lose any students as we wait, but it¡¯s very possible as their circumstances get worse and worse¡±.

Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP for Brent North who co-wrote a letter to the government demanding that students be able to complete the biometric testing, told?Times Higher Education?that ¡°time is running out¡±.

He noted that other countries ¨C including Ireland, Italy, France and Germany ¨C have already found ways to get around biometric data requirements and questioned why the government has not taken decisive action.?

¡°If they¡¯re going to be able to come here and start their course in September, [the government] needs to get this sorted now,¡± said Gardiner, whose letter has gained the support of more than 100 MPs. ?

¡°We know they can because they¡¯ve already had to do it for children who have come over for medical treatment. So this is not impossible. There are established ways of doing this. I don¡¯t want to criticise [the government], I want a result.¡±

A ÍøÆØÃÅ Office spokesperson said: ¡°We are aware of these students and are actively considering how we can best support.?

¡°Of course, the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to find a solution.¡±

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com