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

Attacks on education globally have surged by 40%, with more than 8,556 recorded incidents and 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) said.

Incidents were reported in 83 countries, with the highest numbers 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% to 1,912 recorded cases. The highest numbers of victims were recorded in Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon, where more than 1,700 students and staff in total were killed or injured.

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