Protecting Education from Attack through Strong Coordination in Mali

The education system in Mali is under severe strain from insecurity, armed conflict, and mass displacement. Persistent attacks on schools and threats against teachers and students have disrupted learning for hundreds of thousands of children across the country. Between April and June 2025 alone, four cases of direct threats against schools were reported in the regions of Koutiala, Koulikoro, Ségou, and Timbuktu.

These incidents force the closure of schools, leaving students and teachers at risk – jeopardizing children’s right to education as well as their safety, health, psychosocial wellbeing and long-term opportunities.

But protecting education from attacks in Mali faces a series of interconnected challenges that reflect the complexity of the security situation. Schools are not only collateral damage of conflict, but also intentional targets for attacks or militarization. 

“Formal education, perceived as conveying Western or secular values, becomes a prime target for armed groups [turning] schools, teachers, and even students into legitimate targets in the eyes of these groups, making protection particularly difficult,” notes M. Meme from the local NGO AMSS.

Compounding these risks are weak data collection, mass displacement, and insufficient funding to put in place protection mechanisms. Together, these factors demand a well-coordinated, sustained response to keep education safe.

Local organizations: the “backbone” of safe schools in Mali 

The Mali Education Cluster, with support from the Global Education Cluster, has worked to coordinate the response between all relevant actors, including the Malian Ministry of Education, international organizations as well as local NGOs. By aligning actions with sectoral plans and ongoing humanitarian efforts, the Cluster avoids duplication and ensures that interventions address real, priority needs.

“Working with the Education Cluster, the Committee, and other partners helps us a lot on the ground. This allows us not to face challenges alone. The technical resources, guidelines, and orientations that the cluster shares with us allow us to be better equipped and offer quality interventions to the beneficiaries of our programs. The coordination work carried out by the cluster through the updates of response plans allows us to create synergies on the ground, harmonize our actions, and thus avoid duplication. Thanks to this, our communities receive more coherent support, and we can defend the needs of the communities and our challenges with one voice to the authorities as well as technical and financial partners. For a national NGO like ours, collaboration with the cluster is a real added value, because our local realities are better taken into account and our actions gain strength,” states M. Mohamed from the local NGO, ASREF.

The leadership of local organizations has proven invaluable. Local Malian NGOs bring a dimension of innovation and cultural adaptation that international organizations cannot always provide. Their understanding of cultural codes, local languages, and traditional social structures allows them to develop educational approaches that resonate with communities and are effective amid security constraints.

In particular, local partners and traditional or religious authorities can mediate with armed groups, decreasing the likelihood of attack. They quickly alert when a school is threatened and participate in management committees to find appropriate solutions, such as temporarily relocating classes or welcoming displaced children. Their presence reassures families and helps maintain the link between the school and the community.

"Malian teachers are arguably the unsung heroes of education protection"

Local education personnel often adopt innovative strategies to keep education safe by holding clandestine classes, implementing flexible schedules to avoid the most insecure times, grouping students of different levels to optimize available resources, and developing professional solidarity networks to share security information.

“Malian teachers are arguably the unsung heroes of education protection,” says M. Meme, AMSS. “Despite direct threats, kidnappings, and intimidation, many teachers continue to carry out their duties under extremely difficult conditions.”

A persistent challenge has been reconciling the investment required to protect education long-term with short-term funding cycles. But international partners have had a role to play when it comes to advocacy and resource mobilization:

“The Cluster’s collective voice carries farther than the individual advocacy of member organizations,” states M. Meme, AMSS. “This advocacy power has proven particularly important in drawing international attention to the education crisis in Mali and mobilizing the necessary resources. Education Cannot Wait's funding, which now exceeds USD 51.6 million in Mali, is a testament to the effectiveness of this collective approach to resource mobilization.”

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Looking forward

Mali has demonstrated political will to protect education by endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in 2018 and establishing a Technical Committee for Monitoring the Operationalization of the SSD (CTS-DSE) in 2019. The committee brings together nine ministries, UNICEF, leading international NGOs, and civil society groups to coordinate activities, including: creating regional and local monitoring committees, training stakeholders, advocating for a school safety law, mainstreaming SSD principles in education and humanitarian projects, and sharing experiences at international forums.

“Education is not a luxury that can be suspended in times of crisis, but a fundamental human right that retains its full validity, and perhaps even acquires greater importance, in emergency situations,” states M. Meme, AMSS. “Suspending education in times of crisis amounts to double punishment for the most vulnerable.”

There is renewed momentum to establish a national law on the protection of schools and universities in armed conflict. In early 2025, consultations led to the drafting of a bill, which is expected to be submitted to the Minister of Education for consideration. Stakeholders hope the law will be adopted by the end of 2026. 

This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the Safe Schools Declaration, bringing global progress on attacks on education into sharper focus. 

“The 10th anniversary of the Safe Schools Declaration is an important moment for us,” notes M. Mohamed, ASREF. “It's an opportunity to reflect on how far we've come, but also to reiterate that protecting education remains an urgent priority in Mali. For us, this signifies recognition by both the national and international communities of the importance of keeping schools open and safe, even in times of crisis. It also encourages us to continue our efforts alongside communities so that every child can learn without fear.”

Local partners hope that this anniversary can serve as a catalyst to mobilize renewed international support for this evolving conflict. 

M. Mohamed from ASREF concludes: “Our wish is simple: that every child in Mali has the right to learn in safety.” 

Photos from top: © UNICEF/UNI693320/Dicko, © UNICEF/UNI834870/N’Daou, © UNICEF/UNI280376/Tremeau, © UNICEF/UNI652106/Keïta