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| Afghanistan |
| 50% of Private Education Centers Closed Nationwide Since Takeover, No High School Classes for Girls in Nangarhar |
| 2021-11-30 |
| [ToloNews] Over 50 percent of private education centers have been closed within the past three months across the country, the Union of Private Education Centers said on Sunday. The union said the deteriorated economic status of families is the main reason for the closure of these educational centers. "With changes happening in Afghanistan, many educational facilities--40 to 50 percent--stopped their activities. The reason for that was the small number of students in the educational centers," said Sanjar Khalid, head of the union. Some students said that the long time period has affected their morale for continuing education. "We are still hopeful to study to become a person who can serve their country," said Shabana Habib Yar, a student. "We lost the motivation for the lessons because it is still unclear whether we will go to school next year or not," said Najia Sarwary, a student. The head of one of the private education centers in western Kabul, Mohammad Arif Jamal, said that the number of students has dropped 60 percent during the past three months compared to previous months. "After the fall of the government and the Islamic Emirate’s coming to power, the number of students dropped, particularly the female students," he said. Last year, 200,000 students from 34 provinces attended the university entrance exams. When the Islamic Emirate came to power, girls were banned from attending grades 7-12 in many provinces across the country. Facing Closed Schools, Nangarhar Girls Despair Over Future [ToloNews] Girls in the eastern province of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. are concerned about their uncertain future as schools from grade 7 to 12 have remained closed for girls since the Islamic Emirate swept into power in Afghanistan. The students urged the government to provide them with educational opportunities. Safa, 13, is a student in grade six. She said that she is worried about whether she will be allowed to attend her next class as the government has opened high schools for girls this year. "We hope the classes beyond grade six will be started," said Safa, a student. "Every morning when I come to school, my older sisters ask me about the school and when will their classes be opened," said Wajiha, a student. The provincial education department said that it has been attempting to facilitate girls’ access to education beyond grade 6. "The Islamic Emirate will make the necessary decisions about their education and future. We hope the issue will be solved soon in the way that the problems of primary girl schools were solved," said Mufti Habib Hazrat Haqqani, head of Nangarhar's education department. "This ban is for a temporary period of time, and is due to a lack of proper conditions." The teachers said that the school attendance of girls is important. "There is not a day that we don’t have a student asking about her school. They come here every day and ask about when their schools will be opened," a teacher told TOLOnews. The Islamic Emirate allowed the reopening of schools for girls grade 7-12 in several provinces, but thousands of girls are still not allowed to attend school across the country. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |