Mumbai, June 15: Attacks on education around the world rose by 40%, with more than 8,556 incidents recorded and over 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed during 2024 and 2025, according to a new study.
Global rise in attacks
The research documented attacks in 83 countries, with the highest numbers reported in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine.
The report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) found that Ukraine experienced around 900 attacks on schools, while Palestine recorded at least 2,400 attacks affecting students and staff.
The study, published on Monday, also found that incidents involving military forces or armed groups occupying schools and universities increased significantly. A total of 1,912 such cases were recorded, marking a 91% rise compared with the previous two-year period.
Leadership response and warnings
Lisa Chung Bender, director of the GCPEA, said the findings underscored the growing threat facing education systems globally.
“They are a warning that the global norms that once protected children are collapsing,” she said. “A warning that the world is drifting toward a place where even the youngest are no longer off-limits. And a warning that if we do not hold the line now, we may never get it back.”
The largest numbers of people affected by attacks on education were reported in Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon, where more than 1,700 students and staff were killed or injured.
In Nigeria, more than 700 students and staff were reportedly kidnapped. In Myanmar, at least 80 students and staff lost their lives, while approximately 240 others were injured.
Protesters have demanded the release of about 39 students and seven teachers who were kidnapped in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Girls and Students With Disabilities Among Those Targeted
Prof Tejendra Pherali, professor of education, conflict and peace at University College London, said the continuing rise in attacks reflected a troubling trend.
“It’s heartbreaking to see numbers are rising; it is the same pattern every year … In my view, this is more systematic rather than episodic, and attacks are increasingly strategic.”
He added: “Behind these numbers are the children who no longer see schools as a place of safety. It’s not just education that is lost – it’s safety, futures and trust in educational institutions.”
According to the report, women and girls were targeted because of their gender in at least 11 countries.
One example cited in Nigeria occurred on 17 November 2025, when gunmen attacked a girls’ boarding school, killing the vice-principal and abducting 25 female pupils.
Students with disabilities were also impacted by the violence despite already facing considerable barriers to education. The report noted that on 11 September 2025 in Lebanon, sources said the Israeli military carried out a controlled detonation that destroyed a school serving children with special needs.
The study found that high explosives, including drone-borne munitions, were frequently used in attacks on schools. These assaults caused extensive casualties, damaged infrastructure and forced many educational institutions to shut down.
Kieran King of the charity War Child UK said attacks on education constituted a serious violation of international law, including the Geneva conventions.
“The reality is that since 2010, we have seen a 60% increase of children living in conflict,” he said. “Over the same period, we’ve seen grave violations against children, including attacks on education, increase by 373%.”
Rising Conflicts and Weak Accountability Fuel Crisis
King said the situation was being exacerbated by states acting without fear of punishment and by reductions in humanitarian assistance.
“We see this weakening multilateral system and political impunity for war crimes more broadly,” he said. “The inevitable result of that is a documented surge in disregard for international humanitarian law.
“The aid cuts that we’ve seen from the US, but also the UK and others, [have led to significant amounts] of the funding for support for humanitarian action removed from the sector.”
Despite the increase in attacks, Chung Bender said such incidents could be prevented.
“We need states to end military use of schools, strengthen legal protection and accountability for attacks on education, and invest in monitoring, reporting and early warning systems,” she said.
The findings come at a time when the number of conflicts between states has reached its highest level since the Second World War.
Also Watch:
Data from Uppsala University’s conflict data programme recorded 65 conflicts during 2025. Of those, 13 were classified as wars, meaning they resulted in at least 1,000 battle-related deaths within a calendar year. This represents the highest number recorded since 1992.
The death toll also rose sharply during the year among both combatants and civilians. More than 244,000 people were killed in organised violence during 2025, making it the second deadliest year since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
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