UNICEF: Afghanistan’s Education System Faces an Unprecedented Crisis

Photo: Amu

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Afghanistan’s education system is facing an unprecedented crisis, with millions of children, especially girls, deprived of going to school.

In a report published on Sunday (October 12), UNICEF stated that political restrictions, lack of funding, and successive humanitarian crises have destroyed the educational achievements of the past two decades and have significantly increased inequalities.

According to the report, more than two million girls are deprived of education beyond the sixth grade. A shortage of teachers, especially female teachers, along with the lack of school buildings and basic facilities such as electricity, water, and sanitation services, has severely reduced the quality of education.

UNICEF’s findings show that nearly half of Afghanistan’s public schools lack proper buildings, 79 percent have no electricity, and many are without access to drinking water or toilets.

The report also noted that since the Taliban’s takeover, religious education has made up a significant portion of the curriculum in public schools, with half of class hours now dedicated to Islamic studies; a change that has further limited opportunities to learn modern sciences.

According to UNICEF, 90 percent of ten-year-old children in Afghanistan are unable to read a simple text, a clear sign of the country’s worsening learning crisis.

The organization added that the return of more than two million migrants from Iran and Pakistan since 2023 has placed additional pressure on the education system. Many returning children, especially girls over the age of twelve, have been unable to continue their studies due to lack of infrastructure and restrictions.

It is worth noting that four years after the Taliban’s return to power, girls’ education has not only been banned but the overall educational structure of Afghanistan is collapsing. Poverty, the exclusion of girls from schools, and the weakening of women teachers’ roles have put the future of an entire generation at risk.