Key facts
- Attacks on education globally increased by 40% in 2024-2025.
- Over 10,600 students and staff were harmed in 8,556 recorded incidents.
- Colombia, DRC, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine reported the highest incidences.
- Military occupation of schools and universities nearly doubled.
- Women and girls were specifically targeted in at least 11 countries.
- The number of global conflicts reached its highest level since WWII.
Attacks on education worldwide have surged by 40%, with over 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested, or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, according to new research from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). The report documented 8,556 incidents across 83 countries, with the highest rates occurring in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine. Ukraine alone faced approximately 900 attacks on schools, while Palestine reported at least 2,400 attacks targeting students and staff. Cases of military forces or armed groups occupying schools and universities nearly doubled, increasing by 91% to 1,912 recorded instances compared to the previous two years. Lisa Chung Bender, director of GCPEA, warned that these findings signal a collapse of global norms protecting children and a drift toward a world where even the youngest are not safe. Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon experienced the highest numbers of victims, with over 1,700 students and staff killed or injured in total. In Nigeria, more than 700 individuals were reportedly kidnapped, and in Myanmar, at least 80 students and staff were killed and about 240 injured. The report also noted that women and girls were targeted because of their gender in at least 11 countries, and students with disabilities faced significant obstacles and attacks. The frequent use of high explosives, including drone-borne munitions, caused extensive casualties and damage to educational infrastructure, forcing many institutions to close. Kieran King from War Child UK highlighted that since 2010, the number of children living in conflict has risen by 60%, while grave violations against children, including attacks on education, have increased by 373%. He attributed this surge to a weakening multilateral system and political impunity for war crimes, exacerbated by aid cuts from major countries. Uppsala University's conflict data program registered 65 conflicts in 2025, with 13 classified as wars, the highest number since 1992. This period also saw a sharp increase in fatalities, with over 244,000 people killed in organized violence in 2025, making it the second most violent year since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.