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

Cases reported in 83 countries, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted or arrested, GCPEA says

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, according to new research.

Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences recorded 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, the report from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) said.

Cases of military forces or armed groups occupying schools or universities nearly doubled (91%) from the previous two years, with 1,912 recorded cases, according to the study, published on Monday.

Lisa Chung Bender, director of the GCPEA, said the report’s findings sounded the 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. And a warning that if we do not hold the line now, we may never get it back.”

The highest numbers of people who fell victim to attacks on education were in Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon; where more than 1,700 students and staff in total were killed or injured.