Record number of attacks on education, global fund warns
Education Under Fire Leaves Millions of Children Without Classrooms
Qinilo.com – As a new school year begins across much of the northern hemisphere, millions of children facing war, displacement and insecurity are being left outside the classroom. Education Cannot Wait has warned that 93 million children are currently out of school amid an unprecedented wave of attacks on learning.
The crisis extends far beyond those unable to attend classes altogether. Across 87 countries, 258 million children are experiencing serious interruptions to their education because of insecurity and related pressures. For children caught in emergencies, the loss of schooling can quickly become another lasting consequence of conflict.
The warning comes on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, observed against what the global fund described as a climate of escalating conflict, declining restraint and weakening international norms in several parts of the world.
“When a child is denied schooling for years, the consequences are immediate and profound: it means forgotten literacy, lost routines and a future dictated by recruiters or traffickers, rather than teachers,” said Maysa Jalbout, Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in crises.
Record levels of violence affecting schools
Education Cannot Wait highlighted findings from a partner report showing that attacks on education, as well as the military use of schools, reached their highest recorded levels during 2024 and 2025. The number of students and education workers killed, injured, abducted or otherwise harmed also rose to a record.
Across 28 countries examined in the report, schools and universities were directly attacked or used for military purposes. At least 9,259 attacks on education were documented, including more than 3,600 attacks involving schools. That total was more than 50 per cent higher than the number recorded in 2022 and 2023.
More than 10,600 students and educators were killed, injured or abducted during the period covered. The use of schools by armed forces or armed groups nearly doubled, compounding the risks for communities that depend on education facilities not only for learning, but also for stability and routine.
When a school is damaged, occupied or threatened, the disruption often reaches beyond a single building. Families may decide it is too dangerous to send children to class, teachers may be forced to leave, and displaced students can struggle to enter new education systems. Children with disabilities, refugees and those already living in poverty can face the greatest barriers when formal schooling breaks down.
“Education in emergencies is about more than keeping children in school. It is about protecting them at their most vulnerable: offering safety, stability, a sense of normalcy, and a path toward a future beyond crisis,” said Education Cannot Wait chief Ms. Jalbout.
Vulnerable children face the steepest barriers
UNESCO has emphasized that every party to a conflict must comply with international law and protect education from attack. The agency noted that nearly eight in 10 children who are out of school or affected by crisis — around 74 million children — live in only 20 countries.
Within those settings, displacement and disability create especially severe obstacles. An estimated 74 per cent of refugee children are out of school, alongside 52 per cent of internally displaced children and 45 per cent of children with disabilities. These figures underline how educational exclusion can deepen existing inequalities during humanitarian crises.
Keeping education accessible is also closely connected to child protection. Schools can provide regular contact with trusted adults, learning routines and a place where children can continue developing skills even when other parts of life have become uncertain. Prolonged absences, by contrast, can make it harder for students to return and can narrow their prospects long after violence subsides.
Children continue to bear the impact of conflict
Recent UN data recorded 24,174 children affected in 2025 out of 38,558 verified grave violations against children in armed conflict. Killing and maiming were among the most common violations, affecting 14,224 children.
Children were also recruited and used in conflict, abducted, and denied humanitarian assistance, as detailed in the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. The report described fighting increasingly taking place in densely populated areas, where children are exposed to airstrikes, artillery fire and explosive drones.
Homes, hospitals, schools and other civilian facilities have been damaged or destroyed in such conditions. Children can face danger not only where they live, but also while fleeing violence or trying to obtain food, water and medical care.
The greatest number of verified grave violations occurred in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar and Somalia. For the first time, Government forces were responsible for most verified grave violations.
A push for safe learning in crisis settings
Education Cannot Wait and its partners argue that education is a vital form of protection for children living through emergencies. It can help preserve learning, reduce isolation and equip young people with skills needed to contribute to recovery in their communities.
The fund’s Hope Starts Here campaign is seeking $600 million to provide 10 million children in what it calls “the world’s toughest places” with access to safe, quality education. The appeal reflects the scale of a challenge that cannot be solved simply by reopening school gates: students need secure facilities, teachers, learning materials and sustained support to continue their education through crisis.
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