University Entrance Exams Begin in Kabul Without Female Students for Fourth Consecutive Year
The National Examination Department under the Taliban administration announced that the third round of the university entrance exam, or the Konkour for the solar year 1405, began today (May 4) in Kabul and will continue tomorrow. The exam is being held on the grounds of Kabul University; however, for the fourth consecutive year, no girls are allowed to participate.
According to information provided by this department, nearly 120,000 candidates are participating in this year’s Konkour, with over 111,000 expected to be admitted to higher and semi-higher education institutions. Additionally, the exam for religious school candidates, evening faculties, and the special program for graduates of the fourteenth grade, which constitutes the fourth phase of the Konkour, is scheduled to be held on May 12 in Kabul.
The administration of the Konkour without the presence of girls is taking place amid a Taliban ban since 1401 (2022) on the education of girls beyond the sixth grade and subsequent prohibition of their university studies. This decision has faced widespread domestic and international backlash and is still considered one of the most serious violations of the right to education in the country.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has simultaneously warned that continued deprivation of girls from education and restrictions on women’s participation in the labor market will have broad and long-term consequences for Afghanistan. The agency emphasized that this ongoing situation could exacerbate the shortage of skilled personnel, particularly in the education and health sectors, in the coming years.
UNICEF’s report states that out of 129 universities in the country, 40 are at risk of closure due to decreased revenue and a decline in the number of students and teachers, especially among women. The organization added that since the ban on education was imposed, over one million girls have been deprived of their right to education, with approximately 250,000 additional girls joining this number each year.
According to UNICEF, if this trend continues, the number of girls deprived of education could exceed two million by 2030, a situation that will severely challenge the country’s educational future and its capacity for skilled expertise.
