Attacks on education surge by 40% and higher education faces systematic repression, report says

Attacks on education rose by more than 40% during 2024 and 2025 compared to the previous two-year period, according to a report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) titled 'Education Under Attack 2026'.

Against a backdrop of escalating conflict and eroding global norms, researchers documented at least 8,566 attacks, harming more than 10,600 students, professors and education personnel.

For the higher education and research community, the findings are particularly stark. The report identifies a parallel rise in the military use of facilities and the violent repression of campus activism, signalling what GCPEA describes as an "indefensible" trajectory for global learning.

The report identifies four main types of attacks against education and higher education:

• The violent repression of campus activism;
• Direct attacks on schools and campuses;
• Conflict-related attacks on schools and campuses;
• The military use of schools and universities.

GCPEA is a non-profit organisation formed in 2010 by organisations working in the fields of education in emergencies and…