KABUL: Afghan university students will have to attend more compulsory Islamic studies classes, education officials said while giving little sign that secondary schools for girls would reopen.

“We are adding five more religious subjects to existing eight,” said Abdul Baqi Haqqani, minister for higher education, including Islamic history, politics and governance. Number of compulsory religious classes will increase from one to three a week in government universities. He told a news conference that Taliban would not order any subjects to be dropped from current curriculum. However, some universities have altered studies on music and sculpture highly sensitive issues under Taliban’s harsh interpretation of sharia law while an exodus of Afghanistan’s educated elite, including professors has seen many subjects discontinued.

Officials have for months insisted that schools will reopen for girls, swaying between technical and financial issues as reasons for continued closures. Abdulkhaliq Sadiq, a senior official at education ministry said families in rural areas were still not convinced of need to send girls to secondary school. “We are trying to come up with a sound policy in coordination with our leaders so that those in rural areas are also convinced,” he said. Meanwhile, without a secondary school certificate, teenage girls will not be able to sit future university entrance exams. International community has made right to education a key condition for formally recognising Taliban government.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 17 2022

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