Click to expand Image Gaza’s education system lies in ruins. © Plan International / Ahmed Salama (New York) – At least 8,500 attacks on education took place globally in 2024-2025, a more than 40 percent increase from the previous two-year period, according to Education Under Attack 2026, released today by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). These attacks harmed over 10,600 students, teachers, and education personnel across 83 countries, including 55 not in active armed conflict. “We believe the true increase is far higher,” said Felicity Pearce, lead researcher for Education Under Attack 2026. “Escalating conflict, shrinking humanitarian access, and widespread information blackouts mean many attacks are never reported.” As global insecurity and instability increased, levels of conflict were the highest seen since World War II. GCPEA documented the highest numbers of attacks in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine. In Ukraine alone, more than 900 attacks on schools were recorded. In Palestine, over 2,000 attacks targeted education, and by the end of 2025, nearly all schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed. Haiti, newly profiled in this report, experienced over 400 attacks. The highest numbers of people killed or injured were documented in Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon. Girls and women faced heightened risks of violence and exclusion, including targeted attacks on girls’ schools and conflict-related sexual violence in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Haiti, and Nigeria. In Afghanistan, authorities shut down learning centers for girls above grade six and detained female teachers, sustaining their assault on girls’ education. Reports of the military use of schools nearly doubled; GCPEA identified over 1,900 cases with Colombia, D