Afghanistan: Students in Khost province lack basic educational facilities

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 17 (ANI): The students in the Khost province of Afghanistan lack basic educational facilities with no proper infrastructure and suitable location for teaching, TOLOnews reported on Friday.

Since the Taliban takeover, Afghan children have fallen into a deep crisis with no access to proper education, especially the female students of the country. The classes are forced to take place outside due to a lack of facilities and a convenient location.

Nazratullah, a teacher in Afghanistan’s Khost, stated that students sometimes use carpets to attend classes as there are no chairs available. He also added that he cycles several kilometres each day to a village where he has been providing more than twenty children and teenagers free English lessons for the past five months, TOLOnews reported.

“There are around 20 to 25 children and young people who follow English lessons with us. There are also some young people who are not literate and come here to learn something,” he noted.

Although the village does not have access to educational facilities, they are grateful that they get the chance to study English there for free.

“I work in a pottery factory. I come here to learn English for free after work'” said Imdadullah, a student.

The Taliban’s return to power preceded a deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, worsening issues that had long plagued the country, affecting women and children the most.

Taliban banned women from attending university last December after the Islamist group barred girls from returning to secondary schools amid a brutal crackdown on women’s rights since it seized power in 2021. The country is battling its worst humanitarian crisis as the people lack basic amenities to fend for their lives.

Taliban also announced a ban on female NGO workers – prompting multiple major foreign aid groups to suspend their operations in the country. Many Islamic countries and organisations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have condemned the ban on women’s and girls’ access to work and education as a violation of Islamic law.