Acting Education Minister Meets with UN Special Representative

At a meeting with Roza Otunbayeva, the UN special representative for Afghanistan, Mawlawi Habibullah Agha, the acting minister of education, discussed the activities of the current government in the education sector.

According to this Islamic Emirate official, the current government has made achievements in the fields of education, security, and the economy.

On the eve of the academic year, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that education is a necessity for Afghanistan’s economic growth and stability.

Price called on the Islamic Emirate to allow women to be educated and to fully participate in society.

According to Price, banning girls from education has a significant impact on the relationship between Washington and Kabul.

“We are watching very closely to see what happens later this month when we expect Afghanistan’s schools to reopen. We stand with the Afghan people in calling on the Taliban to allow women and girls to have access to education and to participate fully in society. The Taliban’s decision to close secondary schools to girls last March violated again the very promises the Taliban made to their own people. It’s had a significant impact in turn on our engagement with Taliban representatives,” Price said.

“Afghan girls, who make up around 40% of students at private and state universities, are barred from attending university, and female students are banned from schools. Instead of calling it a success, I think we should describe it as a disaster for Afghanistan’s educational system,” said Mustafa Mudasir, a university lecturer.

So far, no decision has been made regarding the reopening of schools for female students above sixth grade.

The Ministry of Higher Education has announced that universities for male students would open in the country’s colder regions on Hoot 15 (solar calendar), but nothing has been said about the reopening of universities for female students.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen our schools in the coming academic year, so that we continue our education,” Halima, a school student said.

In the meantime, some religious clerics asked the Islamic Emirate to allow girls to be educated within the principles of Islam.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to re

open schools for girls based on specific conditions,” said Abdul Manan Haqqani, a religious cleric.

It has been more than a year and a half since schools have been closed to female students above sixth grade in the country.