RASC News Agency: Data from the Taliban’s Ministry of Education indicates that 26 religious schools were inaugurated in the provinces of Balkh, Paktia, Paktika, Sar-e Pol, Kapisa, Farah, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Khost, Ghazni, and several others during the months of October, November, and December. The construction and renovation of these schools reportedly cost approximately 80 million kabuli rupees. According to the data, 14 schools were established in October, 6 in November, and another 6 in December, including both new constructions and renovations. Additionally, in the last month alone, foundation stones for six schools were laid in the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Balkh, and Sar-e Pol. A similar number of schools were built in the previous month in Kapisa, Farah, Baghlan, Khost, Ghazni, and Badakhshan.
Among the schools constructed in November are notable institutions such as Jamia Al-Islamia Al-Mansooria in Mahmood Raqi, Kapisa; Bibi Aisha Siddiqa School in Anar Dara, Farah; Numan Bin Thabit School in Pul-e-Khumri, Baghlan; Noor-ul-Quran School in Khost; Umar Farooq School in Khwaja Omari District, Ghazni; and Dar-ul-Uloom Imam Abu Hanifa in Yaftal-e-Payan District, Badakhshan. Critics argue that the Taliban’s Ministry of Education prioritizes building religious schools over academic institutions. They accuse the group of using some of these schools to indoctrinate young minds, effectively training them for militant purposes.
Fatima, a Kabul resident, remarked, “Our country urgently needs modern education, but the Taliban have deliberately rejected this necessity. Instead, they are focusing on constructing religious schools that, in essence, serve as training centers for future suicide attackers.” According to official statistics from the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, Afghanistan now hosts over 21,000 religious schools, with more than three million students enrolled. While secondary schools for girls remain closed, the Taliban have opened religious schools to girls of all ages without exception, granting them access to religious education.
