Afghanistan: 70% Schools In Nuristan Province Without Buildings

Afghanistan’s education department on Monday stated that nearly 70 per cent of schools in Nuristan province do not have buildings.

The Nuristan province has a total of 214 schools, but only 60 of these schools have buildings, Tolo News reported citing the education department officials.
The officials have stated that temporary tents must be used at these schools to address the problem.

Nuristan’s education director Mawlawi Tah Motamen said, “In order to make progress in building the structures, we constantly share this problem with every responsible institution to solve our problem.”

Students and residents of the Nuristan province have complained that thousands of students have been studying for years with difficulties and without buildings, which has had a negative impact on them, the local media reported.

“Our school is quite distant from the village, I want to learn, we have many problems in this school, we do not have a pen, a booklet, or a book. When it rains, our school is closed, and we study here in the sweltering heat. We ask that the government solve this problem,” said Habiba, a student.

“We are coming here from far villages, our road is damaged, we climb this mountain every day and we are afraid of falling. The government should create a school and a road for us so that we can easily come to our classes,” said Aisha, another student.

The teachers and residents of the province have also complained about the lack of educational materials in the schools, and have requested the Islamic Emirate to pay serious attention to their problems.

“I had been teaching them under the shade of trees, and we have no pens or paper,” said Mohammad Hanif, a teacher.

“I am very happy that students are coming and studying,” said Nuristan’s resident Shah Khan.

Presently, 36,000 students including 16,000 females are enrolled in the 214 schools in the Nuristan province, and female students above sixth grade are still not allowed to attend schools, as per the official figures.

The condition of education in Afghanistan has deteriorated in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country in August last year, and several decisions were taken that deprived young girls and women of their humanitarian rights.

Taliban, in its official order earlier, directed female staff members of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to wear the hijab at offices and has also curtailed Afghan women from wearing make-up and reproductive rights, ban on education for girls from classes 6 and above being an add on.

However, although the Taliban’s Ministry of Education has assured that the schools for girls in grades 7-12 will be reopened in the near future, there have been hardly any developments so far. (ANI)