Afghanistan’s education sector is facing challenges, including high program costs and limited educational facilities. The Taliban regime also severely restricts female education, with a majority of school-age girls denied access.
Afghanistan’s education sector is facing challenges, including high program costs and limited educational facilities. The Taliban regime also severely restricts female education, with a majority of school-age girls denied access.
Recent developments within Afghanistan’s education sector brought a significant emphasis on integrating modern and religious sciences, but the road to achieving this balance is fraught with controversies and challenges, especially on women’s education.
Afghanistan’s educational landscape is undergoing significant changes. Neda Mohammad Nadim, acting minister of higher education, has been at the forefront, emphasizing the need for domestic expertise across various sectors.
Under his leadership, the Afghan International University introduced eleven new programs, including four doctoral and eight master’s programs in medicine, engineering, and agriculture. This initiative is in line with the Ministry’s vision to reduce dependence on foreign education and expertise.
Najibullah Haqqani, acting minister of IT and telecommunication, also advocated for a harmonious coexistence of modern and religious sciences, underlining the societal and religious respect garnered through education.
Hamdullah Nomani, acting minister of MUDH, echoes similar sentiments. However, the affordability of these programs remains a concern. Students like Nawid Ahmad and Jamal Naser have voiced the need for reduced fees and improved educational facilities.
In response, Nadim assures that the challenges in the education sector have been largely overcome.
Despite these advancements, Afghanistan’s education system faces significant drawbacks, particularly in female education. Reports from Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict ranked the nation’s education system among the worst globally, with a devastating impact on girls and young women.
The Taliban’s regime has seen a staggering 80 percent of school-age females denied access to education, with girls above sixth grade barred from schools for over two years.
The situation has drawn sharp criticisms from international organizations like Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemning the Taliban’s policies as “gender apartheid.”
Sher Mohammed Abad Stanikzai, Taliban’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, seems to contradict these policies, emphasizing the importance of education for national progress.
However, the ground reality remains bleak. Since the fall of Kabul and the withdrawal of US and NATO-led forces, the Taliban have introduced strict measures, banning girls from secondary education and, later, from higher education.
This has led to an indefinite suspension of university studies for thousands of women, a situation the United Nations describes as worsening under Taliban governance.
The fate of female university students hangs in the balance, dependent on Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s decision to lift the education ban.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, the education sector has seen severe restrictions, including bans on girls attending school beyond the sixth grade and women attending universities.
Higher Education Minister Nadim defended these measures, citing adherence to Islamic principles and concerns about gender mixing. Despite promises of lifting the ban, girls’ practical access to education remains highly restricted.
The Afghan Ministry of Higher Education, under the guidance of Deputy Minister Lutfullah Khairkhwa, is developing a plan to reopen universities for female students.
Despite the enrollment of over a million new students in the past year, the situation has remained unchanged since the December 2022 ban on female university enrollment. This has placed Afghanistan in the global spotlight as the only country systematically denying girls basic educational rights. The Ministry’s records show a total enrollment of over 10 million students, including more than 4 million girls.
Afghanistan’s education sector is at a crossroads, with significant strides being made in modernizing and integrating religious studies. However, the progress is overshadowed by the ongoing gender disparities and the Taliban’s restrictive policies on women’s education.
The international community remains watchful and concerned as the fate of thousands of young women and the future of education in Afghanistan hang in a delicate balance.
