It was HG Wells who observed that "civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." The recent horrific terrorist attack at Garissa College in Kenya is an example of the kind of catastrophe that results when groups attack soft targets such as schools, colleges and universities. Not only did 148 students lose their lives, but each of these students was part of a network of families, friends, neighbors and others who knew and loved them. For Kenya this represents the loss of some of the brightest and best of a future generation upon which every country depends.

It was Edmund Burke who noted that "all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to remain silent and do nothing." It is therefore encouraging and good to see the lives of these slain students commemorated and honored by their fellow students in universities and other educational institutions around the world.

These protests against such violence also remind us that education is a fundamental human right. It is a right that is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. Already millions of children and adults remain deprived of educational opportunities, many as a result of poverty. When terrorism is added to this mix, many other parents are unfortunately but understandably afraid to send their children to school. This is also being seen in Nigeria, where more than 300 young women were abducted from their school dorm by Muslim militant group Boko Haram. Boko Haram reportedly sold and married off the young women - stoking fear within the community, leading some parents to stop sending their girls to school.

Tragically, around the world, in places experiencing armed conflict, schools and universities are also increasingly becoming part of the battlefield. In many of these locations, schools and universities are being used as bases, barracks, firing positions, and armories thus transforming places of learning into military operations and endangering students and teachers.

International cooperation and guidelines

These attacks on schools and education have led to the formulation by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict (GCPEA). This global coalition was formed in 2010 and the Guidelines were released in December 16, 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to GCPEA, attacks on education are any intentional threat or use of force - carried out for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic, religious, or criminal reasons - against students, educators, and education institutions.

Guideline 1 calls on armed forces and non-state armed groups to refrain from using education facilities for military purposes.

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