A new United Nations-backed report has warned that conflict, displacement, and climate-related disasters are driving a global education crisis that threatens the future of millions of children worldwide. According to the report, an estimated 258 million school-aged children and adolescents are being affected by emergencies that disrupt learning and limit access to quality education.
The report, Breaking Barriers: Understanding Educational Exclusion in Crises, published by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), reveals that 93 million crisis-affected children are currently out of school. Millions more remain enrolled but face conditions that prevent effective learning, increasing the risk of eventually dropping out.
Researchers found that educational challenges are becoming increasingly concentrated in the world’s most severe crisis zones. Of the 182 million children living in the 20 highest-severity emergency contexts, 74 million are out of school, representing nearly 80 percent of all out-of-school children identified in the study.
The report highlights that educational exclusion extends beyond classroom access. In many crisis-affected regions, children struggle to develop basic reading and learning skills, with gaps appearing early in their education and widening over time. In some settings, fewer than one in ten children achieve basic reading proficiency during the early grades.
Displaced children face some of the greatest obstacles. Studies conducted in countries including Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Somalia found that displaced students experience lower promotion rates, slower academic progress, and are more likely to be older than the expected age for their grade level.
Girls, refugees, and children with disabilities also face disproportionate barriers to education. The report notes that conflict has a particularly severe impact on learning outcomes, with reading proficiency rates significantly lower in conflict-affected countries compared to regions primarily affected by economic challenges or natural disasters.
Despite these challenges, the report emphasizes that families continue to value education. Financial hardship and conflict-related school closures account for nearly 80 percent of school withdrawal cases, indicating that many children leave school due to circumstances beyond their control rather than a lack of interest in learning.
Education Cannot Wait has called for urgent international investment to prevent learning losses from becoming permanent. Since its launch, the organization has supported more than 14 million crisis-affected children and aims to reach an additional 10 million by 2030. The report warns that without immediate action, an entire generation could face long-term consequences for education, employment opportunities, and economic development.
