THE UNITED Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) expressed its concern Wednesday over the continued rise in attacks on schools around the world.
UNESCO said this in a press statement on the occasion of the International Day to Protect Education from Attacks, based on the latest global data, which revealed an alarming escalation in such attacks in 2025.
It said that 1,680 attacks on schools were verified by the United Nations in 2025, an increase of 33 per cent compared to 1,265 attacks in 2024.
More broadly, an estimated 258 million children and adolescents have had their education disrupted by crises worldwide, including 93 million who are entirely out of school, UNESCO said.
Nearly 80 per cent of all out-of-school crisis-affected children, some 74 million, live in just 20 countries facing the world’s most severe crises, UNESCO said.
The organisation noted that barriers to learning are steepest for the most vulnerable within these settings, with 74 per cent of refugee children and 52 per cent of internally displaced children.
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany said schools and universities must always be protected, calling on all parties to conflicts to respect international law and ensure that education can continue safely.
The International Day to Protect Education from Attack was established by a unanimous decision of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, with September 9 designated as the annual observance. (NAN)
