‘Education must never become a casualty of war’, Commissioner Lahbib says ahead of International Day to Protect Education from Attack
“Education must never become a casualty of war. No child should pay the price of a conflict they did not start,” European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in a statement ahead of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, observed today.
According to the statement, which quotes the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, in 2024-2025, more than 8,500 attacks on education facilities, staff and students were reported across 28 conflict-affected countries. Schools were shelled, seized, and turned into barracks. At least 10,600 students and teachers were harmed. Attacks rose by more than 40% compared with the previous two years.
Also, last year alone, some 38,000 grave violations were verified against more than 24,000 children.
“These children should have been sitting at a desk, not counted in a report,” Commissioner Lahbib said. “When a school is destroyed, we lose more than walls and classrooms. We destroy a place where dreams are born, where futures are built, where children can imagine a different world.”
According to Lahbib, too often, a bombed school is written off as collateral damage: “But schools and civilians are protected under international law. And International law is increasingly treated like a menu of voluntary options. This must stop.”
Hadja Lahbib also said that the European Union supports education as part of its emergency humanitarian response, alongside food, shelter, health, and protection.
For example, in Ukraine the EU has launched the ‘New Underground Shelters for Ukrainian Schools’ programme aimed to develop safe and modern dual-purpose shelter spaces in frontline and heavily affected regions. The first shelter was completed in the Odesa region, followed by the Sumy region, with the Zaporizhzhia region set for completion in 2026. The Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions are next in line.
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