Attacks on education, pupils and staff around the world up by 40%, says study

Attacks on education globally have surged by 40% in 2024 and 2025, according to a new report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). The study recorded over 8,556 incidents, resulting in 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested, or harmed across 83 countries. The highest incidences were reported in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine, with Ukraine experiencing approximately 900 attacks on schools and Palestine seeing at least 2,400. Cases of military forces or armed groups occupying schools or universities nearly doubled (91%) from previous years, with 1,912 recorded cases. The report highlights a collapse of global norms protecting children, warning that attacks are increasingly strategic and systematic. In Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon, over 1,700 students and staff were killed or injured, while Nigeria reported over 700 kidnappings. The report also found gender-based targeting in at least 11 countries, including a November 2025 attack in Nigeria where gunmen killed a vice-principal and abducted 25 female pupils. Students with disabilities faced additional risks, such as the Israeli military’s destruction of a school for children with special needs in Lebanon on September 11, 2025. High explosives, including drone-borne munitions, were frequently used, causing extensive casualties and infrastructure damage. Experts warn that attacks on education violate international law, including the Geneva Conventions, and reflect a broader erosion of humanitarian protections. Kieran King of War Child UK noted a 60% increase in children living in conflict since 2010, with attacks on education rising by 373% over the same period. Aid cuts from the US, UK, and other nations have worsened the situation, contributing to political impunity and disregard for international humanitarian law.