A new global study records thousands of attacks on schools, universities, pupils and educators, warning that places of learning are increasingly being transformed into targets of war and repression
Schools are supposed to offer children protection, stability and the possibility of a future. Across a growing number of countries, however, the classroom is becoming another front line.
Attacks on education increased by more than 40% during 2024 and 2025 compared with the previous two-year period, according to a major international study documenting violence against schools, universities, students and education workers.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack recorded at least 8,566 incidents worldwide. More than 10,600 pupils, university students, teachers, professors and other members of education staff were killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed.
Cases were identified in 83 countries, illustrating that the threat extends far beyond a small number of well-known war zones. The highest numbers of incidents were reported in Palestine, Ukraine, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Haiti.
The findings present a disturbing picture of educational institutions losing their traditional status as protected civilian spaces. Schools were bombed, raided, occupied by armed forces, used as military positions and caught in fighting between rival groups. Students and teachers were attacked while travelling to class, participating in demonstrations or simply attempting to continue their education amid conflict.
Schools increasingly drawn into warfare
Attacks on school buildings remained the most common category documented by the researchers, with more than 3,000 incidents recorded over the two-year period.
In Palestine, the coalition identified at least 2,400 attacks affecting students and education personnel. Ukraine experienced about 900 attacks on schools as the war continued to damage civilian infrastructure and disrupt learning across large parts of the country.
Modern weapons are also changing the scale and character of the danger. Explosive weapons were used in at least 1,200 attacks across 21 of the countries examined in detail.
Researchers recorded at least 320 drone-related attacks on education. Those incidents killed or injured almost 300 students and education workers and damaged or destroyed at least 250 schools.
The use of drones and high explosives means that an attack does not need to occur inside a classroom to devastate a school community. Explosions near educational buildings can kill pupils, destroy transport routes and force institutions to remain closed long after the immediate fighting has ended.
Repeated attacks also create fear among families. Even when buildings remain standing, parents may decide that sending their children to school is too dangerous.
One of the report’s most serious findings concerns the military use of schools and universities.
Researchers documented more than 1,900 cases in which armed forces or armed groups occupied or used educational facilities—an increase of approximately 91% compared with the previous reporting period.
Schools may be converted into barracks, command centres, detention sites, weapons stores or firing positions. Their military use can make them targets for opposing forces and expose nearby children to bombardment, recruitment, sexual violence and other abuses.
The consequences frequently continue after troops have departed. Buildings can be left damaged or contaminated by explosives, while communities may no longer regard them as safe places for children.
The occupation of educational facilities also sends a dangerous message: that schools are legitimate components of the battlefield rather than civilian spaces entitled to protection.
Kidnappings, killings and repression
Some countries recorded particularly high numbers of direct casualties.
Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon together accounted for more than 1,700 students and education workers killed or injured. In Myanmar alone, at least 80 students and staff were killed and approximately 240 were injured.
Nigeria continued to face mass abductions from educational institutions, with more than 700 students and members of staff reportedly kidnapped during the period covered by the study.
Kidnapping has become a particularly destructive form of violence against education. Beyond the immediate danger to those taken, high-profile abductions can lead to prolonged school closures and discourage entire communities from sending children—especially girls—back into classrooms.
The study also documented thousands of arrests and detentions connected with education. More than 7,000 students, teachers and other education personnel were reportedly detained or arrested during education-related attacks, including crackdowns on protests.
These cases show that attacks on education do not occur only through bombs or gunfire. Governments and security forces can also undermine education through intimidation, arbitrary detention and excessive force against students or academics.
Women and girls were deliberately targeted because of their gender in at least 11 countries, according to the coalition.
The forms of abuse included kidnapping, sexual violence, threats and attacks designed to prevent girls from attending school. In some communities, a single assault on a girls’ school can reverse years of progress in female education by persuading frightened families to keep their daughters at home.
Children with disabilities also faced particular risks.
Many already encounter significant obstacles in reaching suitable schools or obtaining specialist support. When their institutions are damaged or destroyed, alternative education may be unavailable.
The destruction of a school serving children with disabilities can therefore eliminate not only a building but an entire network of care, communication and social support.
The immediate human toll represents only part of the crisis.
When schools close, children lose routine and contact with trusted adults. Some enter work prematurely, while others face heightened risks of forced marriage, recruitment by armed groups or exploitation.
Interrupted education can also follow children for the rest of their lives. Pupils who miss several years of schooling may never return, reducing their future income and limiting the skilled workforce available to countries attempting to recover from war.
Teachers are affected as well. Many continue working without pay, teach in damaged buildings or conduct classes in temporary shelters while facing the same insecurity as their pupils.
An attack on education therefore harms more than the people present at the moment of violence. It weakens families, local institutions and the long-term ability of societies to rebuild.
The coalition warns that the rise in attacks reflects a broader weakening of international norms intended to shield civilians from the effects of war.
Educational facilities are generally protected under international humanitarian law unless they are being used for military purposes. Deliberately attacking civilians, including students and teachers, may amount to a serious violation of that law.
Yet accountability remains limited. In many conflicts, attacks are poorly investigated, perpetrators are rarely prosecuted and damaged education systems receive insufficient support.
The growing number of incidents suggests that some armed actors no longer fear meaningful consequences.
Researchers and humanitarian organisations are also concerned that cuts to foreign aid could make the problem harder to measure. Monitoring attacks requires local investigators, verified reporting and organisations capable of reaching dangerous areas.
A future decline in documented incidents would not necessarily mean that schools had become safer. It could simply indicate that fewer organisations remained able to record what was happening.
Protecting education requires more than rebuilding schools
The coalition is calling on governments and armed forces to end the military use of educational institutions, strengthen domestic legal protections and investigate attacks more effectively.
It has also urged states to support the Safe Schools Declaration, an international political commitment intended to protect students, teachers and educational facilities during armed conflict.
Monitoring and early-warning systems will also require investment. Authorities need reliable information about threats so that classes can be relocated, transport routes changed and vulnerable schools protected before violence occurs.
Reconstruction remains essential, but replacing damaged walls is not enough. Children and teachers may need psychological assistance, secure transport, temporary learning spaces and reassurance that returning to school will not place them in danger.
The new figures reveal a global crisis that extends far beyond education policy. When schools are attacked, societies lose places where children can find safety, knowledge and hope amid instability.
The classroom is often one of the final civilian institutions still functioning during conflict. Its destruction signals not only a loss of education, but a deeper collapse in the boundaries intended to protect children from war.
