Nablus – Ma'an – The student senate union in the West Bank announced a strike affecting all universities in the area on Thursday, in ongoing action against the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education.

A statement from the union said ministry officials had yet to meet the demands of the senates, involving the cancellation of a policy to convert grants into loans.

University students were asked by the senate to observe the strike, including missing examinations.

The Ministry of Education announced at the start of the year a program that would see several million dollars of the government budget allocated to students converted from grants into loans. Some of the money converted into loans was done retroactively, sparking complaints from students who did not intend to go into debt.