Protecting education from attack requires resilience and accountability: EAA official

Doha, Qatar: In 2024-25, educational attacks surged more than 40 percent, with 8,566 incidents recorded globally, highlighting the urgent need for prevention, preparedness and community resilience beyond emergency responses, according to Dr. Maleiha Malik, Executive Director of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation's Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC) programme.

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) recorded incidents that harmed at least 10,600 people, with prolonged conflicts increasingly endangering schools and universities through destruction, military use or occupation. Dr. Malik denounced the erosion of restraint norms, where states are willing to use explosive weapons in civilian areas and ignore international law distinctions.

Prolonged conflicts like those in Sudan, Gaza and the Sahel have exposed schools as military assets or displacement shelters, putting students and teachers at risk. The crisis manifests in various conflict zones: Ukraine recorded around 900 attacks, while Palestine faced at least 2,400 attacks. Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen and Cameroon together accounted for more than 1,700 casualties.

Dr. Malik emphasized that each context reshapes the crisis differently, citing Gaza's "almost total deliberate obliteration" of schools, universities and the education system, as well as Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo's decades-long destruction of education opportunities. The International Day to Protect Education from Attack, established by the UN General Assembly in 2020, serves as a global platform to keep education protection on the agenda.

Since 2021, the UN Security Council has condemned attacks and threats against schools, students and teachers, emphasizing the need for universal protection. The 2022 UNESCO observance in Paris spurred states to develop preventive action plans, and the #UniteToProtect campaign raised awareness. However, Dr. Malik stressed that legal protection alone is insufficient; community resilience must run alongside legal measures.

Community schools, teacher-led psychosocial support and parent-organized safe routes can sustain learning during crises. Technology, including offline digital content, radio and television instruction, and accelerated curricula, can provide temporary learning solutions when schools are damaged or occupied. However, these measures cannot replace formal schooling and require investment in connectivity and safeguarding to prevent a widening digital divide.

EAA Foundation aims to strengthen national education systems to absorb shocks through teacher training and accreditation, while using alternative learning models when systems have collapsed. Recovery should focus on accredited catch-up learning, psychosocial support integrated into curricula and rebuilding teacher pipelines, measured by learning outcomes recovered rather than mere classroom reopening.

Dr. Malik urged governments to fund prevention, preparedness and education continuity alongside emergency responses, emphasizing the importance of civil society solidarity with those pursuing education amid war and humanitarian crises.