Education’s Sacrifice–Bearing the Human and Financial Toll of Conflict
Released on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack (9 September), the “Education’s Sacrifice-Bearing the Human and Financial Toll of Conflict” opinion piece, authored by Education Above All’s Educate A Child programme, draws attention to the severe disruptions to education caused by war, which threaten sustainable development and global prosperity. It also highlights EAA mitigating actions to address these challenges, such as the ‘Self-Learning’ programme in Syria, which provided home study options and community-based education. Rising military expenditures and declining peace are detrimental to economic growth, diverting essential resources from crucial sectors like education. Conflict devastates educational infrastructure, strains budgets, displaces communities, upends educator salaries, and undermines confidence in learning environments. These disruptions result in severe access issues, loss of personal and academic documentation, trauma, and significant learning deficits, all of which adversely affect future opportunities and talent development. Education stakeholders are right to be concerned, but there are, in fact, beacons of hope which ought to be reinforced and recognised.
