Violent attacks on schools, pupils, and staff around the world have surged by 40%, according to a new study. The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) recorded over 8,556 incidents in 2024 and 2025, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested, or otherwise harmed.
Global Scope of Attacks
Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine. Ukraine experienced about 900 attacks on schools, while Palestine saw at least 2,400 attacks on students and staff.
Cases of military forces or armed groups occupying schools or universities nearly doubled, rising 91% from the previous two years, with 1,912 recorded cases.
Alarming Trends
Lisa Chung Bender, director of the GCPEA, said the findings sound an alarm about the threat to education. “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.”
The highest numbers of victims were in Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon, where more than 1,700 students and staff were killed or injured. In Nigeria, over 700 students and staff were reportedly kidnapped, while in Myanmar, at least 80 students and staff were killed and about 240 injured.
Targeting of Vulnerable Groups
In at least 11 countries, women and girls were targeted because of their gender. For example, on 17 November 2025, gunmen attacked a girls’ boarding school in Nigeria, killing the vice-principal and abducting 25 female pupils. Students with disabilities were also affected; on 11 September 2025 in Lebanon, the Israeli military destroyed a school for children with special needs.
The use of high explosives, including drone-borne munitions, frequently featured in attacks on schools, causing extensive casualties and damage to infrastructure.
Expert Commentary
Prof Tejendra Pherali of University College London said, “It’s heartbreaking to see numbers are rising; it is the same pattern every year. Attacks are increasingly strategic.” He added, “Behind these numbers are children who no longer see schools as a place of safety.”
Kieran King from War Child UK noted that attacks on education violate international law. “Since 2010, we have seen a 60% increase of children living in conflict. Over the same period, grave violations against children have increased by 373%.” He linked the surge to weakened multilateral systems and political impunity for war crimes.
Preventable Attacks
Chung Bender insisted that attacks are preventable. “We need states to end military use of schools, strengthen legal protection and accountability, and invest in monitoring and early warning systems.”
The figures come as the number of conflicts between states has reached the highest level since World War II, with Uppsala University registering 65 conflicts in 2025, 13 classified as wars. Over 244,000 people were killed in organized violence in 2025, making it the second deadliest year since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
