There was a time when universities were seen as sanctuaries of thought, places where curiosity could roam without fear, where questions were not just tolerated but celebrated. But in 2025, that idea feels increasingly fragile. The latest annual report compiled by Scholars at Risk (SAR) through its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project paints a chilling picture of what’s happening worldwide.
Between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the organisation documented 395 attacks on scholars, students, and educational institutions across 49 countries and territories. These weren’t minor disputes or isolated incidents. They ranged from academic freedom violations like censorship, bans on sensitive subjects, and harassment, to targeted suppression of scholars based on their research or public statements.
At its core, the report signals something deeper than statistics; a slow erosion of what makes education meaningful: scholar independence, the right to ask uncomfortable questions, and the ability to teach or study without fear.
Robert Quinn, the executive director of SAR, put it bluntly:
“From Afghanistan to Serbia to the United States, government leaders have intensified crackdowns on student and faculty expression, imposed bans on certain areas of knowledge, and targeted individual scholars and students for their academic or personal views on controversial topics.”
His words echo a truth that many academics already feel; that academic freedom is no longer just about classrooms and research; it’s about the survival of democracy itself.
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How Academic Freedom Violations Are Spreading in the U.S.
A particularly alarming development highlighted in the report is the situation in the United States, a country that was once seen as a global model for higher education and scholarly independence. Yet, in just the first half of 2025, SAR documented nearly 40 attacks on academic independence.
These include the withdrawal of research funding from leading universities, detaining and attempting to deport international academics (often over pro-Palestine positions), and legislative moves aimed at dismantling student academic freedom policies. Many of these policies targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs; once key pillars of inclusive education.
SAR didn’t mince words. The report described the U.S. as a “model for dismantling academic independence.” That’s a damning statement, especially for a country that prides itself on intellectual freedom.
Quinn went on to say:
“The recent measures by the U.S. government to exert control over higher education are unprecedented and represent the first time that a superpower in research and innovation has voluntarily dismantled the foundational structures that support its leadership.”
That’s the kind of sentence that stops you cold. Because when a country voluntarily weakens its universities, the very institutions that fuel progress, what happens to innovation? What happens to the truth?
The report also notes a dramatic shift in pressure. While attacks previously came mostly from local officials, the federal government is now actively tightening its grip. These controls extend to admissions, hiring practices, research topics, and even curricula.
It’s not hard to see how this mirrors larger democratic concerns. As Quinn put it:
“Universities are sanctuaries of democratic discourse and values. When they are targeted or constrained, it signals a democratic backsliding.”
In other words, when academic freedom violations rise, democracy itself takes a hit.
Recently, the U.S. White House issued a memo to nine major universities urging them to limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15% and to ban consideration of race or sex in hiring. Those who complied were promised benefits like access to federal student loans, research funding, and visas for international scholars. Those who resisted risked losing all of it.
The message was clear: fall in line, or lose your future.
Read Also: Deportation Backlogs in Ireland: Legal Hurdles, Delays, and the Human Impact on Migrants
The Global Pattern of Scholar Suppression
Beyond the United States, the report revealed that budget cuts and political interference are crippling universities worldwide. Nations like Afghanistan, Australia, Egypt, Malawi, Portugal, South Africa, and the UK have all experienced research funding reductions; a subtle but powerful form of silencing. When you control the purse strings, you control what knowledge gets pursued.
It’s easy to assume that academic freedom violations are a problem for authoritarian states, but this report dismantles that illusion. Even established democracies are seeing universities become political battlegrounds. And yet, some of the most troubling developments are coming from the Global South, especially India.
Inside India’s Growing Academic Freedom Crisis
India’s academic institutions, once vibrant with student movements and free debate, are facing a silent suffocation. The SAR report describes India as a “key example” of weakening academic freedom.
Several universities have implemented student academic freedom policies that outright ban protests, demonstrations, or even slogan-chanting without prior approval. These restrictions align closely with the political agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Reports detail disturbing incidents: a professor from a marginalised community was assaulted for allegedly “promoting Christianity,” a film festival was cancelled at the intervention of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and scientists denied the prestigious Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar award because they criticised government policies.
It’s all part of a pattern; one where conformity is rewarded, and questioning is punished.
The Academic Freedom Index (AFi) now classifies India’s academic environment as “completely restricted.”
Professor Maya John from the University of Delhi summed up the mood perfectly. She said that campuses that were once alive with discourse now feel like “policed zones.”
Those who support the ruling ideology can vandalise or disrupt events without consequence. Those who speak against it face legal action for something as small as a social media post.
Delhi University’s recent proposal to remove entire courses on religious nationalism, caste issues, and LGBTQ+ studies only deepens that concern. The head of the history department resigned soon after; officially for health reasons, but few doubt the real cause. This is what it looks like when scholar independence collapses. When fear replaces inquiry, learning becomes compliance.
A Global Decline in Academic Freedom
The broader picture is bleak. According to SAR, 36 countries have experienced reduced levels of academic freedom since 2024, while only eight have improved in the past decade. Countries like Afghanistan, China, India, and Iran are classified as entirely restricting academic freedom, while Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia, and Zimbabwe are marked as “severely restricted.”
It’s a trend that transcends borders, ideologies, and economies. Whether it’s censorship, funding cuts, or intimidation, the message is the same: control knowledge, and you control the future.
Clare Robinson, another SAR representative, called it a “moment of reckoning” for the global academic community.
“Despite the setbacks, this moment can serve as a catalyst for solidarity. The global academic community must communicate the importance of academic freedom, reject isolationist tendencies, and work towards establishing strong legal protections.”
That call for unity matters. Because while governments may be tightening their grip, there’s still power in collective resistance, in standing together for truth.
Conflict Zones: Where Academic Freedom Faces Its Harshest Test
The report also dives into war-torn regions where universities are more than places of learning; they’re symbols of hope. In Serbia, student protesters exposing corruption faced funding cuts and salary freezes. In Pakistan, Baloch student activists continue to disappear. In Nigeria and Cameroon, similar abductions have been reported.
Bangladesh’s student movement for educational reform met violent repression: water cannons, live bullets, and arrests. Georgia’s student protesters faced similar state hostility during elections.
And in the heart of the Russia-Ukraine war, universities are literally being bombed. Russian strikes have hit Donbas State Pedagogical University and Sumy State University, devastating academic life. Ukraine, in turn, has linked military service to higher education, making training mandatory and threatening expulsion for students who refuse.
Meanwhile, in Gaza and the West Bank, education has almost collapsed. Universities have been reduced to rubble, students displaced, and professors arrested. The Academic Freedom Index rates Gaza as “completely restricted” and the West Bank as “severely restricted.”
This isn’t just an education crisis. It’s a human one. When learning becomes a casualty of war, the future itself burns with it.
A Call to Protect Scholar Independence
What stands out most in the SAR report is not just the scale of suppression, but the resilience of those who refuse to be silenced. Around the world, academics continue to teach, research, and speak truth despite intimidation.
Clare Robinson’s closing words capture the heart of that resistance:
“Protecting academic freedom requires communication, legal reform, and solidarity. We must reject isolation and recognise that higher education is a shared global trust.”
That’s a message that needs to echo far beyond the walls of universities. Because academic freedom isn’t just an academic issue
It’s a societal one. When you silence a scholar, you dim a light that could have guided progress. When you control a classroom, you shape the minds that shape nations.
This is the reality behind academic freedom violations; it’s not abstract policy or intellectual debate. It’s the erosion of truth, one restriction at a time.
When Academic Freedom Stops Feeling Free: Why This Fight Matters
The decline of academic freedom is not happening overnight. It’s a slow burn; a policy here, a law there, a campus rule rewritten quietly. But its impact is enormous. What we’re witnessing in the U.S., India, and beyond is a warning. The foundation of higher education, curiosity, debate, and diversity of thought, is being traded for control.
If universities truly are “the last sanctuaries of democracy,” then this is a battle we can’t afford to lose. Protecting student academic freedom policies and scholar independence isn’t just about education; it’s about defending free societies.
Because once knowledge is dictated, freedom isn’t far behind.
