BBC News – Sean Coughlan
“More than 30 countries have signed up for a Safe Schools Declaration in response to the deliberate targeting of education in war and terror attacks…The international declaration follows a pattern of deliberate attacks on students, teachers and school and university buildings. This has seen violent assaults such as Taliban gunmen killing more than 140 students and staff at a school in Peshawar in December…But this is part of a much wider problem, with researchers estimating that there were 10,000 violent attacks on education between 2009 and 2013, in 70 countries, with particular problems in parts of the Middle East, Africa, south Asia and Latin America…The countries signing up to the Safe Schools Declaration want to build an international consensus around protecting pupils and education staff, both from deliberate attacks and accidental damage in conflict.”(more)