Taliban Official Hails Free Education as Major Achievement Amid Restrictions on Girls’ Schooling

Abdul Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister of the Taliban-led government, described free education as a significant achievement during the announcement of the nationwide university entrance exam results. He stated that Afghanistan is the only country in the region offering free education at government schools and universities. Hanafi also reported that over 117,000 candidates participated in this year’s university entrance exam.

He presented this as an accomplishment, although free education in Afghan public educational institutions predates the Taliban’s current rule and was a policy followed by previous governments for many years.

At the same time, education under the Taliban administration has faced extensive restrictions for girls. According to Taliban policies, girls are only permitted to attend school up to the sixth grade and are barred from continuing their education at the secondary, high school, and higher education levels.

These restrictions have also prevented girls from participating in the university entrance exam, a decision that has consistently drawn criticism from citizens and educational organizations. This issue remains one of the major challenges to the right to education in Afghanistan.