OMM Newsroom
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education has disputed the findings of a UN report on access to education in the country, saying they do not present a complete picture of the education system.
According to AnewZ, a joint report released by UNICEF and UNESCO on November 4 said 53% of primary school-age children were out of formal education. It also said more than 2.6 million girls had been denied secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
In a statement issued on November 10, the ministry said 18,090 public and private schools were operating in Afghanistan, with more than 7.6 million students enrolled.
According to the ministry, more than 2.4 million students attend 20,372 religious schools, or madrasas. The ministry also criticized how the UN findings were presented.
“In the ministry’s view, presenting a single statistical category as a complete picture of children’s education across the country is not appropriate,” the statement said.
The ministry said about five million new students had begun their education over the past five years and that 373 new public schools had opened. It also said more than 48.7 million textbooks had been distributed and buildings had been constructed for 1,368 schools and madrasas.
The UN report listed poor education quality, teacher shortages and insufficient investment among the main challenges. The Ministry of Education acknowledged that barriers to education remained but questioned the methodology used to produce the UN findings.
“The Ministry of Education is ready to work with relevant organizations on the technical comparison of data so that future assessments provide an accurate and comprehensive picture of education in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
The Afghan ministry’s figures include religious education, while the UN’s 53% estimate concerns formal general education. The two figures therefore measure different categories.
The ministry announced no changes to restrictions preventing girls from receiving an education.
