Why does it matter to speak about this?

Education is the cornerstone of progress. Yet, millions of children, youth, and adults remain trapped in the cycle of poverty, unable to access inclusive and equitable quality education they deserve due to war.

Access to education is transformative. It equips individuals with the skills to rise above systemic inequalities, fosters critical thinking, and opens doors to opportunities that can break a cycle of poverty.

Education is critically important in the context of ongoing conflicts and war. Millions of children are being denied their right to education, while hundreds of thousands suffer the devastating loss of parents, siblings, family members, friends, teachers, caregivers, and other vital figures in their lives.

Afghanistan

The UN[1] reports that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are not allowed to access education after age 12. According to UNESCO[2], this means that 1.4 million girls are barred from enrolling in secondary education and 100,000 young women are banned from attending universities.

Myanmar

The World Bank[3] reports that the percentage of the population in Myanmar aged 6 to 22 years old enrolled in educational institutions has declined from 69.2% to 56.8% between 2017 and 2023. According to UNICEF[4], approximately 4.5 million children lack adequate access to education or have no education access.

Palestine

According to Save the Children[5] and UNICEF[6], 95% of education facilities in Gaza have been destroyed, and approximately 658,000 children are without any access to education. Gaza has faced the fastest and most complete destruction of its educational infrastructure in recent history. The term “scholasticide”[7] describes the situation in Gaza: the systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students, and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure.

Sudan

Since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in 2023, 6.7 million people have been internally displaced, and 1.9 million have fled to Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda, of whom 51% of them being children, according to UNHCR[8].

Syria

Since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, over 5.7 million Syrian refugees, including 2.7 million children, currently reside in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Germany, according to UNHCR[9] and UNICEF[10]. Additionally, more than 7.2 million Syrians are internally displaced. UNHCR[11] reports that over 47% of Syrian refugees in the region are under 18, with more than a third of them lacking access to education. Inside Syria, the situation is equally dire, as over 2.4 million children are out of school, and 1.6 million more are at risk of dropping out.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, Save the Children[12] reports that due to the ongoing war, at least 3,000 schools have been damaged, and more than 300 have been destroyed. Education provision has shifted to makeshift solutions such as underground terminals and online education.

Education is a Human Right! What must be done to guarantee it?

Politicians must act now to stop the killings of children, teachers and whole families.
Politicians must stop the destruction of education facilities.
The international community must collaboratively rebuild education systems to ensure access to education for everyone.

#InternationalDayOfEducation #SDG4 #InclusiveEducation #LifelongLearning #BreakingPoverty #LeaveNoOneBehind

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