50 pc private education centres shut since Taliban takeover

Kabul : Over 50 per cent of private education centers have been closed within the past three months across Afghanistan since the Taliban take over the country, local media reported citing the Union of Private Education Centers.

As per the union, 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 per cent–stopped their activities. The reason for that was the small number of students in the educational centers,” Sanjar Khalid, head of the union said.

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, according to Tolo News.

“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.

Mohammad Arif Jamal, the head of one of the private education centers in western Kabul said that the number of students has dropped 60 per cent 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.