news.un.org
2024-09-10
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of attacks on students, teachers and schools, resulting in an "incalculable cost" for children affected by conflict around the world, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message commemorating the International Day to Protect Education from Attack on Monday.
He emphasised the damage that war leaves on young learners' bodies, minds and spirits, "from injuries and loss of life to abduction, forced displacement, sexual violence, recruitment to the fighting, and lost opportunities".
From 2022 to 2023, there were 6,000 attacks against students, professionals and educational institutions, including 1,000 cases of military use - an average of eight per day, according to a study by the Global Coalition for Protecting Education from Attack, of which the UN educational and cultural agency (UNESCO) is a member.
This figure represents a 20 per cent increase in the previous two years. More than 10,000 students and educators are believed to have fallen victim to these assaults.
Millions of Ukrainian students affected
Among the worst affected are millions of students in Ukraine kept from returning to in-person learning, with nearly 300 air raid warnings and multiple attacks in the country just last week, stated the UN in Ukraine in a post on X.
Thousands of Ukrainian schools have been damaged or destroyed since the escalation of the war in 2022, added the UN children's agency, UNICEF.
Nearly all children in Gaza and Sudan, and many others in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are also out of school due to war and violence, according to UNICEF chief Catherine Russell.