Change a life today

Education

Why education? Every child has the right to safe, inclusive and quality education. As one of the strongest routes out of poverty, education helps children build knowledge, skills and confidence to shape their futures, yet poverty, crisis, conflict, climate shocks, inequality and weak education systems continue to prevent many from accessing and continuing their learning.

Concern’s education programmes are designed around the needs of each local context and focus on three connected priorities: access, quality and wellbeing.

Across humanitarian response, preparedness, recovery, and development contexts, we help the most excluded children access and continue learning, strengthen foundational literacy, numeracy and social and emotional skills, and feel safe, protected and supported.

We work with education authorities, schools, teachers, caregivers, communities and local partners to strengthen education systems, support teachers and create protective learning environments where children can learn, recover and thrive.

Latest achievements

In 2025, our education programmes had a strong focus on Education in Emergencies

In 2025, Concern’s education programmes reached 144,000 people directly and 437,000 people indirectly across 10 countries. Of those reached directly, 83% were supported through Education in Emergencies, and women and girls made up more than half of participants overall.
In Niger, Learning Together/Apprendre Ensemble supported around 71,000 children in crisis-affected areas to continue their education through safe learning spaces, interactive radio lessons, accelerated learning and community mobilisation, while strengthening local capacity to prepare for and respond to future crises.
In Syria, Concern’s non-formal education and homework support helped children affected by displacement continue learning, with 90% of children completing learning cycles progressing into further education.

Three girls in classroom learning about hygiene

Concern Worldwide and its partner organisations organize sessions with young girls and adolescents in Rajapur High School in Shoronkhola. Photo: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan/Concern Worldwide

Mariatu Conteh (10) during a Class 6 lesson at the Muslim Brotherhood School in Masakong. Photo: Conor O'Donovan/Concern Worldwide

In Niger, Concern has set up school governments to involve students in decision-making in their schools in a democratic and accountable way. Photo: Apsatou Bagaya/Concern Worldwide

Teacher in Niger speaking to classroom of children

In Niger, Concern equipped 20 villages with library boxes to improve reading practices for children, for whom access to textbooks and books is very limited.

Children in school uniforms playing in playground in Sierra Leone

Mariatu Thullah (6) plays with her friends in the playground at the primary school in Mathombo. Photo: Conor O'Donovan/Concern Worldwide

Schoolchildren in Chad holding workbooks

Ateb* (centre) is one of the children who attends a school supported by Concern in Sila Province. Photo: Pierre Maget/Concern Worldwide

A closer look at our education programmes

Concern’s education programmes support children and young people affected by extreme poverty, crisis and exclusion to access safe, inclusive and quality learning opportunities. Our work focuses on three connected priorities: improving access to education, strengthening the quality of teaching and learning, and supporting the wellbeing of children and teachers. In emergencies and protracted crises, we use crisis-responsive approaches to help minimise learning disruptions, support children return to school, stay safe, recover from any learning losses and build the foundational skills they need for the future.

Keeping children learning in emergencies

Nearly 234 million school-aged children in crises need urgent support to access quality education, while fewer than one in five crisis-affected children can read by the end of primary school. In emergencies and protracted crises, Concern helps children stay connected to learning through flexible approaches such as alternative education, accelerated learning, distance learning, school kits, remedial support and community mobilisation.

Flagship approaches such as Learning Together-Apprendre Ensemble in Niger and HOPE III in Chad show how education can be adapted in insecure and displacement-affected settings, helping children to return to learning, remain engaged and progress into further education.

Improving quality and learning outcomes

Safe, inclusive and supportive learning environments