Attacks on schools, universities and their students and staff rose by 40% in 2024 and 2025, with more than 8,556 recorded incidents resulting in over 10,600 people killed, injured, abducted or otherwise harmed, according to a major new report. The findings, published by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), document incidents across 83 countries, painting a stark picture of a world in which educational institutions have lost their status as places of sanctuary.

The countries with the highest incidence of attacks included Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine. Ukraine alone suffered approximately 900 attacks on schools, while Palestine recorded at least 2,400 incidents targeting students and staff. In Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon, more than 1,700 students and staff in total were killed or injured. Nigeria also saw over 700 people kidnapped, including an attack on 17 November 2025 in which gunmen raided a girls' boarding school, killing the vice-principal and abducting 25 female pupils. Women and girls were specifically targeted in at least 11 countries, and students with disabilities were also among those affected. In one incident in Lebanon on 11 September 2025, a school for children with special needs was destroyed in what sources described as a controlled detonation carried out by the Israeli military.

One of the report's most alarming findings was that military use of schools and universities — where armed forces or groups occupy educational premises — nearly doubled, rising 91% compared to the previous two-year period, with 1,912 recorded cases. High explosives, including drone-borne munitions, featured heavily in attacks, causing mass casualties, infrastructure destruction and widespread school closures. Lisa Chung Bender, the GCPEA's director, warned that the data signalled something deeper than a statistical trend.