© UNICEF/E. Elkhair In a school in Sudan, students wait for classes to start. UN records record increase in attacks on educational institutions Peace and Security
As the new school year begins, millions of children around the world are returning to classrooms, but for millions more, school is no longer a safe place. About this Director of the Foundation “Education Cannot Wait” Maysa Jalbut on the occasion of International Day of Protection from Attacks in Education, which is celebrated on September 9.
The United Nations notes that the scale of armed conflicts in the world continues to grow, and along with them the number of attacks on educational institutions is growing at an alarming rate.
“Education is a ticket to a better future for every child and every member of the younger generation. It is also a fundamental human right. However, the exercise of this right is becoming increasingly dangerous,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message on on the occasion of the International Day.
All states, Guterres emphasized, are obliged to ensure every child the right to education and the safety of educational institutions, and parties to conflicts must prevent attacks on schools and bring perpetrators to justice. He called on countries to invest in education for all children, endorse and fully implement the Safe Schools Declaration, and support the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
“We must work together to prepare and protect education systems, both face-to-face and online, especially for girls and vulnerable children,” the Secretary General said. “And we also need to ensure the safe reintegration of youth and children associated with armed forces or groups into schools and local communities.”
Guterres noted that the UN offers countries a range of support tools, including practical UNESCO guidance on developing appropriate policies. are growing
According to the head of the Education Cannot Wait Foundation, Maisa Jalbut, her recent meetings with children and teachers in Lebanon and Sudan confirmed that violence against the educational system continues to increase.
Jalbut said she can’t forget the girls in Afghanistan who dream of completing a secondary education, the children in Gaza who look at the ruins of school buildings and don’t know if they will ever learn again, and the families in Nigeria sending their children to school amid a growing wave of kidnappings. More than 8,500 attacks on education were recorded – an increase of 40 percent and the highest figure on record. At least 10,600 students and educators were killed, wounded or kidnapped, and military use of schools nearly doubled. The UN has also confirmed more than 38 thousand serious violations of children’s rights in armed conflict in 2025. This is the maximum figure for 30 years of monitoring.
Today, 258 million children in 87 crisis-hit countries face severe disruption to their learning—21 million more than a year and a half ago. Of these, 93 million do not attend school at all.
Systematic violations
Jalbut emphasized that we are not talking about “collateral damage”, but about systemic, predictable and preventable losses. Lack of education also comes at a cost to society as a whole, she said: countries lose future doctors, teachers, engineers and peacekeepers, girls out of school are more likely to face gender-based violence, and boys are at risk of forced recruitment into armed groups. Children’s lack of education is draining the global economy, slowing the recovery of entire regions and fueling cycles of forced displacement and displacement. conflicts.
On the occasion of International Day, Jalbut called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and immediately stop attacks on schools, students and teachers.
Responsibility, she noted does not lie only with governments. The Education Cannot Wait Foundation has invited donors, businesses, philanthropists and civil society to join the Hope Starts Here campaign to raise $600 million to provide safe, quality education to 10 million children in the world’s most critical situations.