Record Number of Attacks on Education Leaves 93 Million Children Out of School, Global Fund Warns

As millions of students across the northern hemisphere return to classrooms this September, a staggering 93 million children are not in school at all, according to a stark new assessment from a UN-backed global education fund. The organization warned that attacks on schools, teachers and students have reached an all-time high, shattering the right to education for an entire generation and deepening a global learning crisis.

Attacks Surge as New School Year Begins

Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies, underscored that the number of verified attacks on education facilities and personnel has never been higher. The surge comes amid intensifying conflicts, political instability and insecurity in dozens of countries, where armed groups and state forces have increasingly targeted schools or used them for military purposes.

“This September, as millions of children head back to school, 93 million children are being left behind, their futures shattered by violence and conflict,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait. “Attacks on education are not collateral damage – they are a deliberate assault on hope, stability and the very fabric of society.”

“Attacks on education are not collateral damage – they are a deliberate assault on hope, stability and the very fabric of society.”

The fund’s latest data, compiled from monitoring systems and United Nations partners, shows that the number of out-of-school children in crisis-affected countries has climbed sharply compared to previous years. The 93 million figure includes children who have never enrolled, as well as those forced to drop out because their schools were destroyed, occupied, or rendered inaccessible by violence.

Drivers of the Crisis

The report identifies conflict and insecurity as the primary drivers behind the record number of attacks. In regions such as the Sahel, the Middle East, and parts of East Asia, armed groups routinely target girls’ education, abduct students, and intimidate teachers. Schools are bombed, burned, or used as barracks, while the presence of unexploded ordnance turns playgrounds into danger zones.

Beyond immediate physical threats, the ripple effects are devastating. Prolonged school closures erode learning foundations, increase the risk of child labour and early marriage, and push displaced families deeper into poverty. Girls are disproportionately affected, with many facing gender-based violence on the way to school or being withdrawn from class entirely when security deteriorates.

Long-Term Consequences

The warning comes as education experts stress that the cumulative impact of school attacks will be felt for decades. According to global education monitoring, every year of lost schooling reduces a child’s future earning potential and increases vulnerability to exploitation. Entire communities lose the skilled professionals—teachers, nurses, engineers—needed to rebuild after conflict.

The fund emphasized that while emergency education responses have expanded, the gap between needs and funding remains vast. Education Cannot Wait and its partners are calling for a sharp increase in humanitarian financing for education, as well as stronger enforcement of international law to protect schools from attack.

“We cannot afford to let this crisis become the new normal,” Sherif added. “Every child out of school is a life on hold, and every attack on a classroom is an attack on our collective future.”