Margaret Aigbepue, Founder of Maggie Cares Foundation, has warned that fear is rapidly emerging as one of the greatest threats to global education, arguing that concerns over school safety are increasingly preventing children from accessing learning opportunities across both developed and developing countries.

In a statement titled, “The New Risk Factor in Global Education: Fear Itself,” Margaret said while education has traditionally been challenged by poverty, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to learning resources, a new and more complex obstacle has taken centre stage.

According to the Margaret Aigbepue, parents around the world are no longer asking only whether they can afford to educate their children but whether it is safe to send them to school.

“For years, the barriers to education were familiar poverty, distance, infrastructure and the cost of learning materials. Today, a new barrier has entered the equation in countries rich and poor alike. It is fear,” Margaret stated.

She noted that school-related insecurity has become a global concern, manifesting in different forms across regions but producing the same outcome classrooms that should provide safety and opportunity are increasingly becoming places of anxiety.

Citing Nigeria as an example, Aigbepue said school abductions have continued to threaten access to education, noting that the country recorded 26 major attacks on schools between 2014 and 2026**, during which more than 2,400 students were abducted.

She added that between March 2024 and May 2026, over 600 students and teachers were kidnapped in seven mass abduction incidents.

“Thousands of kilometres away, the threat takes a different form entirely,” the statement continued. “In other parts of the world, gun violence on school grounds continues to expose hundreds of thousands of students to danger, with many losing their lives or sustaining life-changing injuries.”

Margaret stressed that the challenge is not limited to countries experiencing armed conflict or insecurity, saying research shows school violence affects both low-income and high-income nations.

“Different weapons. Different headlines. Different continents. The same underlying truth: somewhere in the world today, a child is sitting in a classroom that is no longer guaranteed to be safe,” She said.

According to Margaret Aigbepue, the consequences extend beyond immediate security concerns, affecting school attendance, academic performance, teacher retention and public confidence in education systems.

“What education should never ask of parents is to gamble with their children’s safety simply by sending them to learn,” Margaret stated. “When parents no longer believe schools are safe, absenteeism rises, dropout rates increase and more children remain out of school.”

She added that the psychological impact on students can be long-lasting, with many experiencing reduced academic performance and increased anxiety following violent incidents.

Margaret Aigbepue called for school safety to become a central pillar of education policy worldwide, arguing that expanding access to education without guaranteeing security is no longer sufficient.

“For too long, conversations about education have focused on getting children into classrooms,” She said. “That conversation is no longer complete. We must also ask what it takes to keep them there safely.”

Margaret maintained that a child who is too afraid to attend school should be regarded as effectively being out of school, regardless of whether the threat stems from abduction, gun violence or any other form of insecurity.

“If education is the foundation upon which every nation builds its future, then safety is the foundation upon which education itself must stand,” Margaret concluded. “This is no longer just a security issue. It is a global education issue, and it deserves to be treated as one.”