Last week brought a major global financing commitment for education and fragile progress for students returning to classrooms in Gaza and Nepal. At the same time, attacks on education in Sudan and restrictions on campus expression in the United States demonstrated that funding must be accompanied by safety, rights and meaningful student participation.
Last week in brief
- Global leaders mobilised US$3.5 billion in pledges and co-financing for the Global Partnership for Education.
- Around 540,000 students were expected to resume in-person learning in Gaza, mainly in damaged buildings, tents and temporary learning centres.
- Drone strikes destroyed more than 330,000 textbooks and other learning materials intended for Sudanese schools.
- Flooding continued to disrupt education for more than 14,000 children across 62 schools and learning centres in Nepal.
- A new investigation documented restrictions on pro-Palestinian expression across 80 US college and university campuses.
- Charges against five current and former Stanford students will be dismissed if they complete community service and pay restitution.
- University of Dundee staff began five weeks of industrial action over job losses and compulsory redundancies.
- Austrian pupils and parents challenged the country’s headscarf ban, which has already generated around 80 reported cases of non-compliance.
- UNICEF warned that public debt is constraining investment in education and other services for more than one billion children.
Key developments
Global Partnership for Education mobilises US$3.5 billion
Governments and development partners announced US$3.5 billion in education financing at a high-level Global Partnership for Education event during the UN General Assembly on 23 September.
The total includes US$2.1 billion in confirmed and anticipated pledges to GPE and an initial US$1.4 billion in co-financing: US$1 billion from development finance institutions and US$400 million from philanthropic and private-sector partners. The event was convened by GPE, Italy and Nigeria.
The commitments form part of GPE’s Multiply Possibility campaign, which seeks US$5 billion for the GPE Fund and a further US$10 billion in co-financing for 2026–2030. If fully funded, GPE says the programme could support better education for almost 750 million children across more than 90 partner countries. Approximately 270 million children and young people worldwide remain out of school.
Our take: The announcement is an important foundation, but confirmed and anticipated pledges must become predictable, additional and fully delivered funding. The figures also show that the replenishment is not yet complete. Governments should close the remaining gap while protecting domestic education budgets and strengthening public, country-led education systems. Students and representative student organisations must have formal roles in deciding priorities, monitoring expenditure and evaluating whether funding reaches marginalised learners. Read the GPE announcement.
Gaza: hundreds of thousands return to in-person learning
Students in Gaza began returning to classrooms on 19 September for the first time in nearly three years. At least 540,000 are expected to receive in-person teaching during the new academic year, primarily in makeshift schools, temporary learning centres and educational points.
The reopening remains extremely fragile. UNICEF estimates that 98% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed, while approximately 660,000 students have been deprived of regular in-person education. Many temporary classrooms lack desks, ventilation and basic supplies, and the price of notebooks and other materials has risen sharply. Online provision will continue for students unable to attend.
Our take: Returning to education is an important milestone, but tents and damaged buildings cannot become a permanent substitute for safe, properly resourced schools. Students must be protected from further attacks, and restrictions preventing educational materials from reaching Gaza should be removed. Reconstruction must be guided by students, teachers and affected communities. Read the Reuters report.
Sudan: strikes destroy materials for the new school year
On 22 September, UNICEF reported that drone strikes had destroyed two warehouses in North Kordofan containing more than 292,000 textbooks, 40,000 Arabic-language and mathematics review books, and additional educational materials.
The supplies were due to reach schools in West Bara, Bara and Um Dam from October. Replacing them will be especially difficult because insecurity already obstructs the delivery of education supplies. Many Sudanese children have missed years of schooling, while schools face shortages of teachers, furniture and learning materials.
Our take: Textbooks and education warehouses are civilian resources and must be protected under international humanitarian law. Destroying learning materials causes damage far beyond a single building: it undermines recovery for thousands of children already carrying the consequences of conflict. Read UNICEF’s statement.
Nepal: more than 14,000 children still face disrupted education
One month after devastating floods struck central and northern Nepal, initial assessments indicate that learning remains disrupted for more than 14,000 children across 62 schools and learning centres in Dhading, Nuwakot and Rasuwa.
Around 440 students and education personnel were reported dead or missing, including 414 children. UNICEF and government partners have established 48 temporary learning centres, allowing more than 1,400 children to resume education, but damaged roads, displacement and the continued use of some schools as shelters are slowing recovery.
Our take: Temporary learning spaces provide vital stability, but they must be accessible, safe and accompanied by psychosocial support. Nepal’s recovery should also invest in schools capable of withstanding future climate disasters. Children and young people from affected communities should participate directly in evaluating temporary provision and shaping reconstruction priorities. Read UNICEF’s recovery update.
United States: new evidence of restrictions on campus expression
An ACLU and Amnesty International USA investigation released on 23 September examined responses to pro-Palestinian advocacy at 46 public and 34 private college campuses across 28 states and the District of Columbia. It documented suspensions, restrictions on student organisations, surveillance, police intervention and pressure on international students and scholars.
In a separate development, California authorities agreed conditionally to dismiss charges against five current and former Stanford students connected to a 2024 occupation of the university president’s office. Each must complete 100 hours of community service, while the defendants must jointly pay approximately US$52,000 in restitution.
Our take: Universities must address discrimination, including antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, without suppressing lawful political expression. Protest rules should be clear, proportionate and applied regardless of viewpoint. International students require particular protection because disciplinary or immigration consequences can threaten both their education and their right to remain in the country. Read the ACLU and Amnesty investigation and the report on the Stanford case.
Global financing: debt pressures education and essential services
During the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, UNICEF warned that more than one billion children live in low- and lower-middle-income countries where rising public debt is constraining spending on education, health, nutrition and social protection.
In some countries, external debt service has increased from around 4% of government revenue in 2010 to more than 10%. UNICEF called for faster debt restructuring, protection of child-related expenditure and financing arrangements that prevent economic adjustment from falling disproportionately on children.
Our take: Debt sustainability cannot be measured only through balanced budgets and creditor repayments. When education funding, student support or school infrastructure is cut, young people carry the costs for decades. Governments and international financial institutions should protect minimum education spending and ensure that students, teachers and civil society can scrutinise budget and debt decisions. Read UNICEF’s remarks.
This week: 28 September–4 October
- 28 September — Edinburgh university strike begins: More than 3,000 University and College Union members are expected to begin five weeks of action over proposed budget cuts and job losses. Industrial action is also continuing at Dundee. Universities must give students timely information and include their representatives in plans to protect learning and assessment. Read the Edinburgh announcement and Dundee’s strike information.
- 28–30 September — Global conference on access to information: Sierra Leone and UNESCO will host the International Day for Universal Access to Information conference. Access to trustworthy public information is central to academic freedom, research and informed student participation. See the conference overview.
- 29 September — Young people’s views on sexuality education: UNESCO will launch a report drawing on adolescents’ and young people’s experiences of sexuality education in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan and Trinidad and Tobago. The event provides an important test of whether student testimony shapes curriculum and policy. See the UNESCO event.
- 29 September–1 October — African university student leadership conference: Student leaders, campus representatives, policymakers and university administrators will meet at Moi University in Kenya. Participants will discuss student governance, higher-education policy and leadership across the continent. See the conference information.
- 29 September–2 October — EDUCAUSE conference: Higher-education technology leaders will meet in Denver to examine artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and student success. Institutions should ensure that conversations about technology include student privacy, accessibility, affordability and representation. See the programme.
What we are watching
- Whether donors convert anticipated GPE commitments into delivered, multi-year funding.
- Whether Gaza’s temporary learning spaces receive adequate supplies and protection.
- Replacement of the educational materials destroyed in Sudan.
- Long-term, climate-resilient reconstruction of schools in Nepal.
- Institutional responses to evidence of viewpoint-based restrictions on US campuses.
- The effects of Scottish university strikes on students and negotiations over job cuts.
Are important developments affecting students taking place in your country? Students, student organisations and education communities are invited to send them to the Global Student Forum for possible inclusion in a future edition of World Student News.
