Can Education Survive an Attack?
Education is a right. No attack should ever take it away. Protecting it takes all of us.
In 2020, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously established 9 September as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. The resolution was presented by the State of Qatar, championed by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and co-sponsored by 62 Member States.
As attacks on education continue to rise, the Day calls on the world to protect students, educators and places of learning, ensure education can continue through crisis, and demand accountability for every attack.
Students, educators and communities working to ensure that education continues should never have to do so alone. Their resilience is not a reason to ask more of them. It is a reason for all of us to act.
When we #UniteToProtect education, we protect every possibility it creates.
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Attacks on education continue to put learners and educators at risk, damage and destroy schools and universities, and deny millions their right to learn.
We join @EAA_Foundation in calling for urgent, collective action to protect the right to education in all circumstances.
We can and must #UniteToProtect education from attack.
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Every child and young person must be safe and feel safe while learning, including during conflict and crisis.
It is our collective responsibility to protect that right, ensure learning continues and hold perpetrators of attacks accountable.
Education survives when we #UniteToProtect.
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For children and young people affected by war and conflict, access to safe, continuous education cannot wait.
Urgent action is needed to protect their right to learn and their futures.
We must #UniteToProtect education.
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In times of conflict and crisis, education is often one of the first services interrupted and one of the last to resume.
Safe, continuous education is a human right, not a privilege. We join @EAA_Foundation in calling for urgent action to ensure every learner can continue learning safely, whatever the circumstances.
Education survives when we #UniteToProtect.
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There is no reason not to protect education. There is every reason to act.
The safety of learners and educators cannot wait.
Now is the time to #UniteToProtect education from attack.
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Attacks on education are rising, putting learners and educators at risk and denying millions their right to an Education.
In all circumstances, learners, educators, schools and universities must be protected from attack.
Education is #NotATarget. We must #UniteToProtect.
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Say it louder. 📣 #UniteToProtect
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RESILIENCE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROTECTION
Communities can adapt.
Teachers can innovate.
Students can persevere.
But the responsibility to protect education remains.
#UniteToProtect. -
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Students, educators, and education personnel continue to pay the highest price for attacks on education.
Every person harmed is one too many. We must #UniteToProtect.
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![An indoor scene of a damaged classroom with destroyed desks and debris. Overlaid text states: 'More than 3,000 attacks on schools in 2024-2025.']()
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Stop attacks on schools. #UniteToProtect education.
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![A young man in a red shirt sitting at a wooden table in a classroom, writing in a notebook with a blue pen. There are other students in the background, some sitting at tables and some standing, with a dark wall and yellow geometric shapes overlaying the image. The text on the top right mentions the international day to protect education from attack and the phrase 'Resilience is not a substitute for protection.']()
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Protecting education from attack means protecting the aspirations and futures of children and young people.
The resilience of learners, teachers and communities must be matched by urgent action to protect and support them.
For education to survive, we must #UniteToProtect.
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![A graphic with a gold and black background showing a statistic of more than 40% increase in reported attacks on education and military use from 2024 to 2025 compared to 2022 to 2023, with the source GCPEA 2026.]()
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Education is under attack. Again and again.
The latest report from @GCPEAtweets reveals a more than 40% increase in reported attacks on education and military use of schools and universities in 2024–2025, underscoring a growing global crisis and the urgent need for action.
Now more than ever, we must #UniteToProtect education.
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Everyone has a role in protecting the right to education. Choose how you will act. #UniteToProtect education from attack.
Featured Videos
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It is time to #UniteToProtect education.
How can attacks on education be prevented?
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Protecting education cannot begin after an attack, says Eladio Made.
Warning signs often come first, but identifying them is not enough. Early-warning systems must be linked to clear plans that enable governments, schools and communities to act before risks escalate.
Here, Eladio Made, Education Specialist at Education Above All Foundation, explains why preparedness is essential to preventing attacks and protecting learners.
Education survives when early warning leads to early action. #UniteToProtect
How can learning continue & communities recover after an attack?
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A school can be rebuilt. Trust, routine and hope take longer to restore.
When an attack interrupts education, temporary learning spaces, remote learning and flexible models can help learners return to their studies.
But lasting recovery also requires practical and psychosocial support for teachers and learners, catch-up programmes, and the confidence of families and communities.
Sarah Elisabeth Wragg, Head of Education Innovation at Education Above All Foundation, explores why recovery must rebuild far more than classrooms.
Education survives when trust, routine and hope are restored. #UniteToProtect
A school is attacked. Who records what happened, and why does it matter?
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One attack can be recorded as a single data point. But behind that number is vital information.
What happened? What was the extent of the damage? Is it an isolated incident or part of a wider pattern?
When attacks are documented promptly and accurately, individual incidents become credible evidence. That evidence can reveal patterns, inform prevention and response, strengthen advocacy and help ensure duty bearers act.
Joshua Maina, M&E Senior Data Analyst at Education Above All Foundation, explains why recording an attack is not simply about counting it. It is about ensuring it is seen, understood and acted upon.
Education survives when attacks are documented, and accountability follows. #UniteToProtect
The cost of war on Education?
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For millions of children and youth, war means losing access to education, safety, and opportunity. Yet every additional year of learning can reduce the risk of conflict and help build lasting peace.
Join Education Above All Youth Advocate Fairuz Yosef Issa as she explains what is truly at stake when conflict disrupts education, and why protecting learning is essential to building a more peaceful future.
Protect education. Protect the future.
#UniteToProtect
Featured Stories
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Learning Never Stopped
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When conflict disrupted learning across Lebanon, teachers found new ways to keep education going.As schools closed, children continued learning online, staying connected to their teachers, their education, and a sense of hope.
Through the partnership between @educationaboveall_eaa and @teachforlebanon, teachers were supported to continue reaching students, helping ensure that learning did not stop despite the crisis.
Protecting education means ensuring learning continues, even in conflict, because every child deserves the chance to learn, recover, and build their future.
#UniteToProtect
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Qamar Finds Her Voice
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Five-year-old Qamar has spent most of her life displaced, living with her family in a tent in Gaza.
Fearful and withdrawn, she rarely spoke or played with other children. After joining Hope for Tomorrow, she found a safe space to learn through play, express her emotions and connect with others.
“She tells me her life has become full of love,” says her mother, Shatha.
Today, Qamar dances, shares stories and dreams of becoming a doctor and a painter.
Delivered by the International Rescue Committee through the Teacher Creativity Center, with funding from Education Above All Foundation and Qatar Fund for Development, and in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the initiative supports children’s learning, well-being and recovery.
Education survives when children have safe spaces to learn, play and heal.
#UniteToProtect
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Education Is My Hope
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Meet Zuhair, 12.A bomb changed his life, leaving him with injuries that now require a wheelchair. But it didn't change his dream of becoming a doctor.
When schools closed across Sudan, volunteer teacher Etra opened her home for catch-up lessons, using printed materials and the UNICEF-supported Learning Passport to help children continue learning whenever possible.
Teachers, families and communities are keeping education alive through conflict. They shouldn't have to do it alone.
Education survives when we #UniteToProtect.
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Back to Learning
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“This school makes me feel normal again.”Displaced from Beit Hanoun to Deir al-Balah, 16-year-old Lama is learning face to face again in a UNICEF-supported temporary learning space, reconnecting with her teachers and continuing to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
Education survives when learning continues through crisis. We must #UniteToProtect it.
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A Ray of Hope
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When classrooms are inaccessible, technology can help learning continue.Ali, 12, is continuing his studies online in a school being used as a shelter in Beirut.
Across Lebanon, approximately 165,000 children are learning remotely because their schools have been closed, damaged, or converted into shelters. Through Madristi (the localized Learning Passport platform), printed materials and low-tech tutoring support, UNICEF and partners are helping children continue learning.
Education survives when prepared, resilient systems keep every child learning through crisis.
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Bringing Back the Voice of Childhood
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“You brought back our children’s voices.”
As a facilitator with Hope for Tomorrow in Gaza, Shireen helps children affected by conflict and displacement find safety, connection and confidence through play-based learning.
She has watched children arrive fearful, silent and withdrawn, then gradually begin to speak, make friends, share stories and laugh again.
“Play is a universal language that accommodates all abilities,” she says.
Delivered by the International Rescue Committee through the Teacher Creativity Center, with funding from Education Above All Foundation and Qatar Fund for Development, and in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the initiative also equips caregivers and educators to support children’s learning and emotional well-being.
Education survives when educators are supported to help children learn, heal and rediscover their voices. #UniteToProtect
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Education Under Attack 2026
Education is under attack on a scale never before recorded. GCPEA’s Education Under Attack 2026 report documented at least 8,566 incidents of attacks on education and the military use of schools and universities in 2024 and 2025, an increase of more than 40 per cent compared with the previous two-year period. At least 10,600 students, teachers, professors and education personnel were harmed. More than 3,000 attacks on schools were recorded, while cases of military use rose to over 1,900.
These figures expose a collective failure. We are failing the children, young people and educators who should be able to learn and teach in safety. When classrooms become unsafe, education must remain within reach. Recognising risks early, creating safe alternatives and using accessible technology to keep learners connected can help education continue through crisis and recover afterwards.
Across communities affected by conflict, young people, teachers and families are already finding ways to ensure that education continues despite attacks. Their determination keeps education functioning. But they should not have to do it alone. Their resilience must be matched by the protection and support that governments and partners have a responsibility to provide.
As of February 2026, 123 states had endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration. That is a foundation for action, not the finish line. Commitments must become laws, plans and practice. The military use of schools must end, international law must be upheld, and perpetrators must be held accountable.
Education survives when we come together to #UniteToProtect it.
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