The Global Conflict Surge

Between 2021 and 2024, the number of children living in conflict zones rose from 449 million (1 in 6) to 520 million (over 1 in 5)—an unprecedented high. In just three years, 71 million more children have been directly exposed to war.

This surge is not only larger in scale but harsher in nature. Verified grave violations against children—including killings, recruitment, sexual violence, and obstruction of aid—reached 41,763 cases in 2024, a 30% rise from 2023 and nearly four times the level recorded in 2010.

At the same time, global military spending has reached $2.7 trillion, yet conflicts are now more numerous than at any point since World War II. Less than 2% of global security budgets are directed toward peacebuilding, underscoring a protection system that is failing.

Africa has become the new center of child conflict exposure, with 218 million affected—surpassing the Middle East. Sudan, the DRC, Nigeria, Somalia, Gaza, and Haiti are among the main drivers of this escalation, marked by mass displacement and restricted humanitarian access.

In 2023 alone, 47.2 million children were displaced by violence. Education has been hit especially hard: more than 52 million children in conflict-affected countries are out of school, and entire education systems have collapsed in places like Sudan and Gaza. Attacks on schools and the militarization of learning spaces have deepened the crisis.
Overall, the data points to a systemic humanitarian breakdown: record levels of conflict, record defense spending, and record levels of child suffering—revealing a profound moral and strategic failure in the global security order.

Education Caught in Conflict

Many people think of conflict as a temporary event — something with a clear beginning and end, much like a war film. The same assumption is often made about education in war: schools close during fighting and reopen once peace returns. But reality is far a complex. Even if wars ended neatly, the damage to education would still be severe; the World Bank estimates that conflict-affected countries lose about 10% of their GDP each year due to disruptions in learning.

In Gaza, conflict has been a near-constant presence. Over 70% of the population is under 30, meaning most should be in school or higher education. Yet years of violence have shattered this possibility. Schools and universities have been destroyed, teachers and students displaced, and classrooms turned into rubble or shelters. UNICEF reports that since October 7, 2023, more than 645,000 schoolchildren in Gaza have lost an entire academic year — and the current one may also be lost. Of the schools still standing, many now house families among the 86% of people displaced. For countless children and youth, education has been replaced by survival. Safety, food, and shelter take precedence, while trauma and loss make learning nearly impossible.

A Lack of Continuity

For those who escape Gaza or other war-torn regions, education remains out of reach. Refugees spend an average of 17 years in their host countries, according to UNHCR, yet even in safety, they face new barriers: language differences, unfamiliar education systems, and gaps caused by years without schooling. One of the greatest obstacles is missing documentation. When schools are destroyed and recordsare  lost, it becomes nearly impossible to prove what grade a student should enter or what degree they were pursuing.

The result is a “lost generation” — young people whose education and potential are suspended indefinitely. This loss extends beyond the refugees themselves. Host countries, too, miss the opportunity to benefit from their skills, creativity, and resilience. Instead of being recognized as valuable contributors, refugees are too often seen as a burden — when, with access to education, they could become powerful agents of renewal and progress.

Destruction of Schools

Armed conflict often destroys the very spaces where learning should happen. Schools are damaged or reduced to rubble, either through direct attacks or as collateral damage from shelling and airstrikes. Between 2015 and 2019, more than 11,000 attacks on schools were recorded worldwide, though experts believe the true number is much higher due to underreporting. Each destroyed school represents far more than a damaged building; it marks the loss of safety, stability, and opportunity for an entire generation of children.

Occupation of Schools

Even when schools remain standing, many lose their purpose as places of learning. Armed groups and displaced communities frequently occupy school buildings, using them as bases, storage sites, or shelters. In conflict zones, schools often become symbols of control and are repurposed for administrative or military use. For displaced families, they serve as temporary refuge. This transformation strips children of their classrooms, while constant movement and overcrowded facilities make continued education nearly impossible. Many children lose their academic records when fleeing, making it even harder to re-enroll elsewhere.

Insecurity and Fear

Beyond physical destruction, the pervasive insecurity of war keeps countless children out of school. Teachers, students, and education workers are often targeted, threatened, or abducted, and the journey to school itself can become life-threatening. In places like northeastern Nigeria, attacks by groups such as Boko Haram have drastically reduced school attendance. The threat of violence also brings deep psychological trauma, eroding concentration and motivation. Moreover, schools can become recruitment grounds for armed groups or sites of sexual violence, leading many parents, especially of daughters, to keep children home for their safety.

Reinforcing Impacts

These destructive forces rarely act in isolation. The demolition of schools, the loss of safe learning spaces, and the constant fear of violence compound each other. Research from Afghanistan, for example, shows that school attendance drops sharply the farther children live from functioning schools, especially for girls, whose parents often fear gender-based violence. As educational infrastructure collapses, so too does community trust and social order. The result is a cycle where insecurity fuels educational loss, and educational loss deepens instability, leaving generations trapped between fear and lost opportunity.

Prioritizing Education in Conflict-Affected States

In countries torn apart by conflict, education often ranks low on the list of recovery priorities. While the need for learning opportunities is immense, most resources are directed toward rebuilding essential systems like health, security, justice, and infrastructure. These are seen as having faster and more visible impacts on poverty reduction. As a result, education—particularly beyond the primary level—remains underfunded and undervalued.

International funding that does reach education usually focuses on universal primary education, following global frameworks such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA). The logic is that primary education has broader reach and lower cost, providing the foundation for future learning. However, this focus has created an imbalance: while primary education receives attention and limited funds, older children and youth are often left without access to secondary or vocational opportunities.

Even with these priorities, current funding still falls far short of global commitments. Save the Children estimates that an additional 5 billion US dollars would be required to meet universal primary education goals. Conflict-affected and fragile states, which are home to half of the world’s out-of-school children, receive less than one-quarter of global basic education aid. Much of this aid is directed toward countries considered “easier to support,” leaving those most in need behind.

Challenges in Coordination and Implementation

Where education programs do exist, they often suffer from poor coordination and fragmented management. Governments in conflict-affected states frequently have limited authority, capacity, or control over funding. Donors tend to channel money through international organizations or NGOs instead of national ministries, further weakening local ownership and sustainability.

This lack of coordination leads to a patchwork of small, disconnected education initiatives. Many operate independently, without alignment to national priorities or long-term recovery plans. Governments, often focused on restoring order or serving specific political interests, may resist education reforms that require changes in curricula, teacher training, or implementation models.

Recognizing these challenges, the global humanitarian education cluster—led by UNICEF and the Save the Children Alliance—was established to unify efforts among international agencies, NGOs, and governments. By fostering collaboration and building national capacity, this approach aims to move beyond short-term emergency responses toward a more coherent, sustainable recovery of education systems in conflict-affected states.

Schools Under Attack

In many conflict zones, schools have become deliberate targets. Armed groups often attack them to abduct children and recruit them into their ranks. Such assaults on schools and hospitals are among the six grave violations against children in armed conflict recognized by the United Nations. These attacks not only endanger lives but also disrupt learning, especially for girls, who are often kept at home due to fears of violence.

The consequences extend far beyond the classroom. Interrupted education limits children’s future economic opportunities and hinders their ability to participate fully in society as adults. Moreover, lack of access to education can increase vulnerability to recruitment by armed groups. In this sense, education is not only vital for personal development but also for national stability and peacebuilding. Guaranteeing safe, continuous access to learning in conflict areas is therefore a key step toward fostering long-term peace, democracy, and sustainable development.

Education as a Path to Peace

Can education promote peace? Research suggests that it can. First, when governments ensure fair and inclusive access to education, public trust increases and grievances that might otherwise fuel rebellion are reduced. Second, education helps young people gain the skills needed for decent employment, decreasing the appeal of joining armed movements. Third, quality education encourages critical thinking and peaceful problem-solving, nurturing a culture of dialogue over violence.

Bridging Educational Inequalities

In many countries affected by conflict, deep disparities in education persist. Girls, ethnic and religious minorities, displaced children, and former child soldiers often have the least access to learning. In Nigeria, for instance, Christian women in the south have more than three times the years of education of Muslim women in the north.

Such inequalities can heighten tensions, particularly when they mirror ethnic or regional divides. Addressing these disparities is therefore not only a matter of justice but also of peace. Expanding equitable access to education can reduce social divisions and contribute to lasting stability.

The Global Toll of War on Education

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to education for all, yet in times of war, that right is among the first to be violated. Across conflict-affected countries, children are 30% less likely to complete primary school than their peers in peaceful regions. Only half of refugee children have access to primary education, compared to more than 90% globally. In 2017, 64 million children of primary school age were out of school—most living in fragile or conflict-affected states.

The longer children stay out of school, the harder it becomes for them to return. Interruptions in education cause lifelong setbacks—limiting future health, income, and well-being, while perpetuating poverty and inequality. When education systems collapse, the foundation for sustainable peace weakens as well.

Gendered Impacts: Girls at Risk

Girls and women are often disproportionately affected by attacks on education. In at least 11 countries—including Afghanistan and Pakistan—students and teachers have been deliberately targeted. Explosive weapons have destroyed schools in places like Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen.

Even where schools remain intact, many girls are kept at home for safety reasons or forced into early marriage due to the economic strain of war. Conflict magnifies gender inequality, silencing girls’ potential and depriving societies of future women leaders, professionals, and educators.

Boys in Conflict: Forced Labor and Recruitment

Boys, too, face grave risks. In conflicts such as Syria’s, teenage boys are often at risk of forced conscription by either government forces or armed groups. To protect them, many families send their sons away, leading to entire villages devoid of young men.

Younger boys face different but equally harsh realities. Many are forced to abandon school to work in dangerous conditions—selling fuel, collecting scrap metal, or engaging in other hazardous labor to support their families. These circumstances expose them to landmines, violence, and exploitation.

During Sierra Leone’s civil war, an estimated 14,000 child soldiers fought on both sides, with children as young as eight years old making up nearly a quarter of the national army. This grim pattern continues in modern conflicts, where education is replaced by survival.

The Human Cost

The destruction of education in war is not only a humanitarian tragedy—it is a direct attack on a nation’s future. Without safe, continuous access to learning, generations risk being lost to poverty, instability, and violence. Protecting education during conflict is therefore not just a moral duty but a crucial investment in peace and recovery.

Armed conflict has a devastating quantitative impact on education, disrupting access and opportunities for millions of children. Research commissioned by PEIC reveals how conflict not only displaces children but also imposes severe direct and indirect costs on education systems.

In Syria, for instance, by April 2014 an estimated 900,000 school-aged children were living as refugees due to the ongoing war. More than half of them had no access to formal schooling, reflecting how forced migration caused by conflict results in a generation deprived of learning and long-term stability.


Sources:

• Hanon, M. (2022). Access to education in conflict crises: The impact of education in emergencies interventions in armed conflict (Master’s thesis, Uppsala University, Department of Peace and Conflict Research).

• Education Above All. (n.d.). The lost generation: What happens when war kills education? https://www.educationaboveall.org/blog/our-advocacy/lost-generation-what-happens-when-war-kills-education

• UNESCO. (2011). The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011).
  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/

• Concern Worldwide. (2023). How does war affect education?
  https://concernusa.org/news/how-does-war-affect-education/