RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education has announced its plan to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees to 26,000 Madrasa students and “Islamic scholars” following an examination process. According to the ministry’s statement, the examinations commenced on Saturday, January 11, and will continue over six days. The statement further clarified that the examinations are being conducted across 31 provinces. Senior Taliban officials, including Nada Mohammad Nadim, the acting Minister of Higher Education, and Habibullah Agha, the group’s Minister of Education, attended the inauguration ceremony.
The Taliban stated that 15,000 individuals will be granted “Alamiyya” certificates, recognized as equivalent to a master’s degree, while 11,000 others will receive “Aliyya” certificates, considered equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. It is worth noting that the Taliban has previously issued school and university diplomas to its fighters, many of whom lacked formal academic qualifications. This development follows recent remarks by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, who expressed unwavering support for jihadist Madrasa education during an address in Kandahar. The awarding of academic degrees including bachelor’s, master’s, and even doctorates to individuals with no formal schooling is widely regarded as a profound injustice against Afghanistan’s educated professionals and a significant blow to the nation’s academic credibility.
The Taliban appears intent on systematically sidelining Afghanistan’s educated professionals and university graduates from the country’s workforce. After initiating purges in government institutions, the group has now turned its focus to academia. Recently, thousands of university professors were dismissed for failing to pass “religious” examinations, and their positions were filled by clerics and individuals ideologically aligned with the Taliban. This trajectory spells a dire future for Afghanistan, threatening to erode the foundations of its academic and professional landscape while deepening the shadow of despair and uncertainty over the nation’s prospects.
