RASC News Agency: Credible sources in Uruzgan province have reported that the Taliban have forcibly shut down over one thousand community-based classrooms established by UNICEF. This decision has left thousands of children, particularly in underserved areas, deprived of essential primary education. On Monday, sources revealed that Taliban officials in Uruzgan issued an audio directive to humanitarian organizations, unequivocally banning the operation of these community classrooms.
According to these reports, the Taliban claimed that the closures were ordered by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s supreme leader. In the directive, addressed to international organization personnel in Uruzgan, the Taliban stated: “We call upon UNICEF and all organizations managing these classrooms to adhere to the directives of the (Taliban) leadership and immediately cease the operation of all such facilities, regardless of affiliation.”
UNICEF had established these classrooms in remote areas where children, particularly those affected by war and socio-political instability, lacked access to formal schooling. The curriculum followed Afghanistan’s national educational framework, focusing on grades one through five. However, the Taliban have previously shuttered hundreds of similar UNICEF-supported classrooms in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
The Taliban have publicly justified these closures under the pretext of “evaluating and resolving contentious issues.” Yet, insiders suggest that the actual motivation is the Taliban’s disapproval of children attending these classrooms instead of enrolling in religious madrasas. Sources claim that Taliban education officials in Kandahar and Helmand demanded that NGOs redirect the resources of these classrooms to their madrasa system, threatening to ban their operations otherwise. Current data indicates that approximately 18,000 community-based classrooms are operational across 30 provinces in Afghanistan, offering foundational education to over 566,000 children most of whom are girls.
The Taliban’s systematic dismantling of these educational initiatives has sparked widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally, as it exacerbates the already dire state of education in Afghanistan. This move is viewed as a direct attack on the rights of Afghanistani children, particularly girls, who have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s regressive policies.
