In the last decade, attacks on education have been on the rise.  All nations are vulnerable to attacks on education. They occur on all continents in varying forms and with varying degrees of disturbance and violence aimed towards teachers and children, support staff and humanitarian aid workers.  Attacks on education occur across social and ethnic groups and in both developed and underdeveloped nations. However, these attacks occur on a larger scale in countries undergoing conflict or being governed by regimes with a poor record on human rights and democracy.  The nature of an attack on education includes multiple forms of short and long term events, violence against pupils and teaching staff as well as the destruction of education facilities and educational supplies and materials.

Education is the cornerstone to a framework of fundamental human rights and is protected by international legal instruments such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In July 2011, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1998, which recognizes attacks on schools as grave violations of human rights, adding them to the crimes for which government forces and armed militias can be named in the UN secretary-general’s annual report on children and armed conflict. Attacks on education threaten other rights, such as health, nutrition, and protection.  Attacks on education hinder access to schools and institutions, place educators and students at risk, and interfere with the provision of education.  As a result, the fabric of a safe and protective, quality learning environment is dismantled and destroyed. When education is attacked, teachers and children are placed in the crossfire of violence. This threatens the existence of peaceful communities where schools serve as centers of knowledge that promote and support child growth and development. As education centers are often seen as safe places for children, these attacks on facilities, students and staff, may lower parents’ trust and deter them from sending their children to school.

The wider implications of disrupting education include a direct impact on a country’s development, as it lowers the rate of attendance in schools and impacts recruitment and retention of school staff which can contribute to existing psychological and physical cycles of poverty. While the immediate response to attacks on education focuses on the damage inflicted on students and teachers, as well as the material cost to repair schools, the longer term implications can be devastating to fragile democracies trying to maintain basic and necessary services such as education and healthcare.