Schools and universities around the world face a vast range of threats that jeopardise the safety of staff and students alike. Schools are often viewed as soft targets in comparison to other official institutions; but aside from ease of access, violence against students and teachers is also highly emotive – and purposefully so. The potential for an attack – and its motive and manifestation – varies tremendously between different jurisdictions. But wherever they occur, attacks on the vulnerable youth attract attention on the global stage, and create urgency and panic among families, communities, organisations and governments. Here, we look at the nature and impact of several security threats that have affected schools over the past year, underscoring the vulnerability of educational institutions as we look ahead to 2024.

War

Schools in active conflict zones are technically protected against attack under international law. However, it rarely – if ever – works out that way. Schools are often subject to direct bombings and armed attacks; but they also face the consequences of infrastructure damage, large-scale community displacement, and even the repossession of school property for the use of invading or defence forces. When schools are forced to close, local communities lose access to critical nutrition, healthcare and social support at a time when such services are needed the most. Furthermore, with the outbreak of war, international educational and study abroad programmes are often suspended, and foreign staff and exchange students are evacuated with little to no notice. Some of the conflicts in 2023 have had an immense impact on schools in the affected countries.

SUDAN

Between April and October 2023, 10,400 schools closed in conflict areas due to violence and insecurity, and 6.5 million children have lost access to education facilities.

UKRAINE

As of October 2023, 3,428 schools have been damaged and 365 have been destroyed since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.

ISRAEL AND GAZA

After Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023, schools across Israel closed and switched to online learning for several weeks, and international universities evacuated dozens of foreign exchange students from the country. Weeks later, the future of many study abroad programmes in Israel remains uncertain, and for educational institutions in border areas with Gaza and Lebanon, the decision to teach in person or online remains dependent on the school’s proximity to bomb shelters. Meanwhile, in Gaza more children were killed in the first three weeks of the conflict with Israel than in any other armed conflict globally over the whole of 2023, according to the international charity, Save the Children.

Terrorism and militancy

Educational institutions – and their staff and students – present particularly attractive targets to extremist groups and radicalised individuals the world over. But what do these threat actors hope to gain? The objective behind an attack against a school can range from attaining local and international notoriety, to influencing the actions of local authorities and intimidating rival communities, to simply drawing attention to a particular political cause.

In Europe, bomb threats against schools have become increasingly common, prompting school closures and panic among local communities. There is no common thread linking the threats, but they tend to occur during elevated political tensions, relating either to the war in Ukraine, or to the conflict in Israel and Gaza, which has driven a resurgence in Islamist extremism and pro-Palestinian sentiment.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, a multitude of militant groups stage attacks against schools – from bombings, to arson, to machete attacks – and often result in high numbers of casualties at a time. Mass kidnappings are also frequent in countries including countries including Cameroon, Nigeria and Uganda.

LITHUANIA, LATVIAAND ESTONIA

In October 2023, more than 900 kindergartens, schools and universities in Lithuania received emailed bomb threats written in Russian. Hundreds more were delivered to schools in Latvia and Estonia. All three countries are highly critical of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The emails all turned out to be hoaxes.

FRANCE AND GERMANY

Also in October 2023, dozens of schools, airports, and tourist attractions across France received bomb threats over phone and email, and French police arrested dozens of perpetrators, many of them students. Six schools in Germany received bomb threats too. A common motive for the threats remains unclear, but they followed an Islamist extremist attack in the French city of Arras on 13 October, in which schoolteacher was stabbed and killed.

NIGERIA

In September 2023, armed bandits kidnapped 24 students from the Federal University Gusau in Nigeria’s Zamfara State, 14 of whom were later rescued by security forces. Loosely organised armed groups – or bandits – are increasingly well armed, perpetrating such violence during looting, raiding and territorial disputes that they now rival regional extremist groups, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, for deadly attacks in Nigeria.

UGANDA

In June 2023, militants attacked a secondary school in Mpondwe in Uganda, killing at least 40 students and kidnapping six others. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) insurgency group were most likely responsible.

Kidnap for ransom

Militant groups are responsible for a number of high-profile school kidnappings around the world, but criminal elements play their part too. Organised criminal groups – and opportunistic individuals – are largely motivated by financial gain, targeting students and staff for ransoms that can reach into the thousands of US dollars.

SINGAPORE AND CAMBODIA

In June 2023, kidnappers told a Chinese student studying in Singapore that he was wanted by the authorities and must go into hiding in Sihanoukville in Cambodia. Kidnappers seized the victim on arrival and demanded a ransom of USD 410,000. The student was rescued three days later through a collaborative effort between Chinese, Cambodian and Singaporean police. No ransom was paid.

ECUADOR

In August in Ecuador 2023, armed criminals kidnapped the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Guayaquil on Avenida Orellana while the victim was on her way to work. Police rescued the victim from a private residence in Guayaquil that same day.

SOUTH AFRICA

In September in South Africa 2023, kidnappers used a dating app to lure a university student to a hostel in Johannesburg, where he was then held hostage. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of USD 1,600. Police rescued the victim and arrested seven perpetrators.

Active assailants

Active assailants present a particularly challenging threat to educational institutions. By their very nature, there is no single motive, ideology, or early warning signal that staff and security personnel can watch out for to contain the threat. Although certainly not unique to the US, active shooting cases at US schools are particularly pervasive. Meanwhile, outside of the US, active assailant attacks in schools are comparatively less frequent, but they can be just as deadly.

CHINA

In July 2023, a 25-year-old entered a kindergarten in Lianjiang in China, and stabbed and killed three children, two parents and a teacher. Guns are tightly controlled in China, but more than a dozen knife attacks – and one involving chemical spray – have been reported in Chinese schools and universities over the past decade.

BRAZIL

In October 2023, a 15-year-old opened fire on students at a school in São Paulo in Brazil, killing one student and wounding two others.

SPAIN

In September 2023, a 14-year-old used two kitchen knives to stab three teachers and two fellow students at a secondary school in the town of Jérez de la Frontera in Spain. One of the teachers was hospitalised with a severe eye injury.