A study released on March 24 shows a dramatic 40% spike in attacks on education globally compared to two years earlier, with 8,556 incidents recorded in 2024 and 2025 combined. At least 10,600 students and education staff were killed, injured, kidnapped, detained, or otherwise harmed as a result.
The report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) documents incidents in 83 countries, with the highest numbers in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine. Ukraine alone saw about 900 attacks on schools, while Palestine reported at least 2,400 attacks targeting students and staff.
Notably, the number of cases where military forces or armed groups occupied schools or universities nearly doubled (91%) compared to two years ago, with 1,912 such instances recorded. “These numbers are an alarm bell about the threat to education,” warned Lisa Chung Bender, GCPEA’s director. “They show that the global norms that once protected children are breaking down, and if we don’t hold the line now, we may never get them back.”
Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon had the highest victim counts in attacks on education, with over 1,700 students and staff killed or injured. In Nigeria, more than 700 students and staff were kidnapped; in Myanmar, at least 80 people were killed and around 240 wounded.
Professor Tejendra Pherali of University College London commented, “It is heartbreaking to see the numbers rising; it is a pattern repeated every year. In my view, the attacks are increasingly systematic rather than sporadic, and they are more strategic.” He added, “Behind these numbers are children who no longer see school as a safe place. It is not just education that is lost—it is safety, future, and trust in education institutions.”
The report also notes that in at least 11 countries, women and girls were targeted because of their gender. A stark example occurred on November 17, 2025, when gunmen attacked a girls’ boarding school in Nigeria, killing the vice principal and kidnapping 25 female students. Children with disabilities, who already face barriers to education, were also affected. On September 11, 2025, in Lebanon, the Israeli military was accused of using explosives to destroy a school for children with special needs.
The use of high-powered explosives, including weapons from drones, featured frequently in attacks on schools, causing heavy casualties, destroying facilities, and forcing many institutions to close. Kieran King of the charity War Child UK argued that attacks on education are a grave breach of international law, including the Geneva Conventions. “The reality is that since 2010, the number of children living in conflict has increased by 60%. Over the same period, grave violations against children, including attacks on education, have risen by 373%,” he said.
The data comes as the number of inter-state conflicts has hit its highest level since World War II. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 65 conflicts in 2025, 13 of which were classified as wars causing at least 1,000 battle-related deaths in a calendar year—the highest since 1992. In total, over 244,000 people died in organized violence in 2025, making it the bloodiest year since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Despite the bleak picture, Lisa Chung Bender insisted these attacks are preventable. “We need states to stop using schools for military purposes, strengthen legal protections and accountability for attacks on education, and invest in monitoring, reporting, and early warning systems,” she stressed.
