Post-Bonn Afghanistan
- Curriculum
The post-Bonn government consisted of a combination of jihadists and technocrats. The jihadists, who typically returned from Peshawar and Tehran, and the technocrats, who returned from the Western countries, were two competing groups within the system. This competition also extended to the field of education. The Minister of Education from the jihadist faction prioritized the interests of the jihadist leaders and their supporters in all matters, while a technocrat considered the other perspective. It is important to note that in certain cases, particularly during Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s government, there were deputy ministers in the ministries who, due to their association with the president’s faction, had more expertise than the minister who belonged to Abdullah Abdullah’s side, the government’s partner. The changes made to the curriculum represented two different sets of ideas, and it is said that some advocated for and implemented a moderate approach.
During Hamid Karzai’s presidency, from 2001 to 2002, Rasool Amin assumed the role of Minister of Education. He received his education in Pakistan and was affiliated with the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, led by Sayyid Ahmed Gailani. After six months, Yunus Qanuni, also from the Jihadist category and a member of the Jamiat-e Islami party, took over as Minister of Education. Following Qanuni, Ahmad Mashahid, a member of the Jamiat-e Islami Party, assumed the position. After Mashahid, Noor Mohammad Qarqin became the Minister of Education. He had previously been a member of the Pakistani Mujahideen in Afghanistan during a period of self-imposed exile and was also a member of the Settlement Council in the Islamic State of Mujahideen. Both the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan and Jamiat-e-Islami Party, whose members arrived at the Ministry of Education in the early 1980s, were among the political parties based in Peshawar that played a role in developing the educational curriculum for Afghan immigrants, with technical assistance from the University of Nebraska. As mentioned earlier, this indicates a close ideological alignment between the Peshawar parties and the Taliban. Consequently, there were attempts to incorporate more jihadist perspectives into the curriculum. However, over time, the explicit and implicit promotion of violence in these books was diminished.
Furthermore, the educational program followed by Afghan immigrants in Pakistan served as the curriculum for primary classes until 2006 and for secondary classes in Afghanistan until 2011. When the Mujahideen returned to Kabul from Peshawar, they brought their curriculum with them. Additionally, the appointment of jihadi ministers in the early days of the republic ensured that this curriculum remained in effect. On the other hand, the books that were created and printed with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the technical cooperation of the University of Nebraska were once again printed and distributed to students in Afghanistan by the same organization.
Noorin Nazari states that in 2001, USAID printed and distributed Jihadi books in order to demonstrate America’s achievements in Afghanistan and the University of Nebraska. These organizations convinced the Afghan Minister of Education, Yunus Qanuni, that the books produced by UNICEF, which aimed to avoid violence, were not sufficiently religious and focused on Afghanistan. Consequently, it was believed that using those books would cause the Afghan religious community to turn against him. Additionally, UNICEF books were prepared and distributed during the exile of Jihadi parties to Peshawar as an alternative to the violent books published in Nebraska.
In 2006, during Mohammad Hanif Atmar’s tenure as Minister of Education, books were printed based on the new curriculum. The United States and Denmark funded this initiative, and the books were distributed to elementary school students. Unlike the previous edition, these books did not contain violent content. However, although some spelling and technical issues were addressed, they were only partially resolved. The new curriculum underwent Islamization, influenced by the significant presence of jihadists in the government and particularly in the education sector. This Islamization was also mandated by the constitution, which stated that the government is responsible for developing and implementing the educational curriculum in accordance with the principles of Islam and national culture, as well as scientific principles. Additionally, the curriculum for religious subjects in schools was to be based on Islamic teachings in Afghanistan. This constitutional provision paved the way for the official inclusion of Jafari jurisprudence in schools and universities for the first time.
However, the contents of these books have been distorted in certain cases. One notable example is the distortion of history found in all new curriculums. Even in the most recent curriculum published during Mirwais Balkhi’s tenure in the Ministry of Education, there are instances where multiple perspectives are presented in an attempt to manipulate children’s emotions. For instance, in the third chapter of the ninth-grade history book (2018 edition), Amir Abdul Rahman Khan is portrayed as a ruler who diligently worked for the betterment of the country and the strengthening of the central government. However, this account fails to mention the fact that he committed mass killings for years in pursuit of these goals. The book also neglects to mention the infamous tortures inflicted by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, as well as the enslavement and sale of women, young boys, and girls. There is a noticeable absence of any discussion on the darker aspects of Amir Abdul Rahman’s era in this book.
During the era of Habibullah Kalakani, he is commonly referred to as “Bacha-ye Saqao” and his period is characterized as a negative one, marked by security disturbances, theft and looting of government assets, and a stagnant business environment. In contrast, efforts have been made to portray figures like Abdur Rahman as patriotic individuals. Regarding Nader Khan, his description is presented in direct opposition to Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar’s account. It is stated that Nader Khan played a significant role in the war for Afghanistan’s independence, specifically in the administration of the southern front, where he dealt decisive blows to the British forces. However, Ghobar describes him as a cunning but fortunate man who fled from battle, and it was only due to Amanullah Khan’s declaration of independence that Nader Khan seized an opportunity. It is worth noting the literature used in the 9th grade history curriculum. It states that Kalakani “entered the city of Kabul” in 1929, while Nader Khan is described as having “moved towards Kabul in 1929 and saved Kabul.”
There was a controversial error found in the 11th-grade culture book. Instead of including the name and photo of Ruhollah Nikpa, the only Olympic medalist in taekwondo, the book mistakenly featured the names and photos of two other individuals. One of them, Nesar Ahmad Bahave, participated in the Olympics but did not win a medal, while the other person was a cricketer, which is not associated with the Olympic sport. This mistake led people to believe that there was discrimination and prejudice against Hazaras, as Ruhollah Nikpa, who is Hazara, was excluded from the book. The Ministry of Education was unable to provide a logical explanation for this error. It is worth noting that this book was published during the tenure of Farooq Wardak as the Minister of Education. However, even the textbook prepared and distributed during the time of Mirwais Balkhi, who is considered one of the most educated ministers of education in the country, still contains issues regarding a different interpretation of history, as mentioned in the ninth-grade book.
Financial and administrative corruption, which is cited as one of the internal factors contributing to the downfall of the republic, also plagued the education sector. Corruption emerged alongside the establishment of the post-Bonn Republic, infiltrating government institutions as soon as they were opened. Former president Hamid Karzai openly endorsed corruption, even encouraging the nation to engage in embezzlement, albeit with the condition that the money be reinvested in Afghanistan rather than taken to Dubai. It is alleged that during Atmar’s tenure as Minister of Education, organizations were needlessly divided and expanded, and new positions were created for certain individuals. If he wished to dismiss someone, he would simply eliminate their position within the organization.
Following Farooq Wardak’s appointment as Minister of Education, corruption became increasingly widespread in the education sector. This coincided with the release of a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which highlighted the misappropriation of 769 million dollars. The report revealed the existence of fictitious students, teachers, and schools within the Ministry of Education, whose budgets were being allocated. While Wardak refuted these allegations, his successor, Asadullah Hanif Balkhi, confirmed their veracity.
Despite these shortcomings being disregarded, a significant transformation occurred in the field of education during the 1980s and 1990s. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic (2002) mandated the government to promote education, stating that “The government shall take necessary measures to promote education at all levels, develop religious education, regulate and improve the condition of mosques, schools, and religious centers” (Article 17 of the Constitution of 2002). This law not only made primary education compulsory, as in previous constitutions, but also included the positive aspect of teaching the native language of residents from different regions of the country, as mentioned in Article 43.
Based on this decision, educational materials in Uzbek, Pashayi, and Balochi languages were published and disseminated in schools catering to the respective language speakers. Article 44 of the constitution mandates the government to design and execute initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality in education, enhancing the education of nomadic communities, and reducing illiteracy rates within the nation.
Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the Afghan government achieved significant progress in terms of both enhancing the quality and expanding the quantity of education. This was made possible through the financial and technical support provided by various countries. A substantial portion of the Afghan government’s budget was contributed by donor nations, including the United States. After the defeat of the first Taliban emirate, the academic year commenced with the return of girls to schools and universities. As a result, four million students were enrolled in educational institutions throughout the country. In the spring of 2001, these students eagerly embraced the slogan “Let’s study our lessons” and eagerly rushed to schools and other educational establishments (Ahmadi Wardak, 2015: 303).
The conditions for education and employment improved for women, and the peaceful early years of the Republic allowed for the expansion of education. Consequently, the government made efforts to establish new schools throughout the country. According to Gol Agha Ahmadi Wardak’s writing, the Ministry of Education has been implementing a new strategy since 2003 to rebuild all areas of education, including equipping educational institutions and schools, enhancing the quality of education in Afghanistan, and promoting equal education opportunities nationwide. (Ibid., 303-304)
During this time period, a significant amount of new schools were established throughout the country, with various buildings being constructed for some of them, and existing school buildings being renovated. Additionally, universities began accepting both male and female applicants, resulting in tens of thousands of students pursuing higher education in the country. Several public and private universities also offer master’s level programs, and certain fields, such as Dari and Pashto literature and Shariat at Kabul University, even have doctoral degree options. Over the course of the republic’s two decades, tens of thousands of individuals graduated from the country’s universities and entered the workforce.
2- Private Institutions: An Extension of Government Educational Centers
The establishment of universities, teacher training centers, and private schools was a significant accomplishment during that time period. The Constitution of 2002 recognized the right to establish private educational centers, leading to the establishment of numerous educational centers throughout the country. Article 46 of the Constitution stated that Afghan citizens could establish public, private, and literacy institutions with government permission. This constitutional provision paved the way for the establishment of thousands of private educational centers, which have played a crucial role in providing education and higher education in the country. The first private university was established prior to the approval of the constitution and obtained a license after its approval.
Certain private schools and universities have offered a significantly superior standard of education compared to public schools, despite adhering to the same curriculum. Some of these institutions have even gone beyond the government curriculum by providing advanced courses. An illustration of this is Marefet private school in Dasht Barchi, Kabul, which not only taught the government curriculum but also included subjects like music. Additionally, these establishments have occasionally granted scholarships to charitable organizations, enabling underprivileged students to receive an education.
According to the Ministry of Education’s statistics for the year 1400, there were a total of 2,865 private schools operating nationwide. These schools had a combined student population of 739,464, with 222,713 of them being girls. The education in these schools was provided by 44,427 teachers. These private schools operated alongside government educational centers, which catered to millions of students. In total, there were 16,448 government educational centers in 1400, including public schools, Islamic education institutions, educational and professional institutes, educational and professional schools, teacher training centers, and literacy schools. These centers had a student population of 7,762,281, including 3,077,121 girls, and were staffed by 202,628 teachers, including 70,010 female teachers.
In a similar vein, the Ministry of Higher Education’s website has published a list indicating that there are currently 134 private universities and higher education institutions operating in the country, in addition to 42 public universities and higher education institutions. However, the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics and Information in 1400 indicate that there were 129 private universities and 39 public universities. This discrepancy in statistics appears to be a result of the Ministry of Higher Education’s website not being regularly updated. Following the Taliban’s return to power, some private universities have ceased operations due to various factors, including financial difficulties. One example of this is the “Private University of Afghanistan,” which announced its closure on December 19, 1401.
According to the statistics, in the year 1400, a total of 16,845 professors were teaching in private universities, with 2,423 of them being female professors. In the same year, there were 351,231 students studying in the country, consisting of 247,377 boys and 103,854 girls. The statistics also highlight that the number of students in 1400 has decreased by 19% compared to the previous year. Out of these students, 196,906 were enrolled in public universities, including 59,868 girls, while 151,904 were enrolled in private universities, including 42,763 girls. Among these numbers, there were 2,421 students, with 1,224 of them being female students, studying in health sciences institutes.
3- The Status of Women in Education
The majority of students in the country come from rural areas as a result of the societal structure. According to data from the Ministry of Education in 2013, a total of 7,590,510 students attended schools nationwide. Of these, 3,056,379 were students from urban areas and 4,534,131 were students from rural areas. This means that 59.73% of all students were from rural backgrounds. Among urban students, there were 1,843,153 boys and 1,213,226 girls. In the same year, there were 2,866,357 boys and 1,667,774 girls among rural students. It is important to note that while urban schools were operational throughout the country, the Taliban targeted and destroyed schools in certain villages. In some instances, they also subjected teachers to torture and violence.
The education of women and girls is a significant issue that has been addressed throughout history. The Republic era is widely regarded as a pivotal period for the advancement of women’s education. However, prior to this era, there were certain periods, such as the decade of the constitution and the era of communist governments, where women’s education was encouraged, but it lacked balance and rural women were largely excluded from it. According to data from the Ministry of Education in 2010, rural students consisted of 63.21% boys and 36.78% girls. In urban areas, 60.30% of students were boys and 39.69% were girls. These statistics indicate that girls and women in rural areas had limited access to education compared to their urban counterparts, where more than 60% of students were boys. In 1400, there were a total of 5,738,523 rural students, with 3,645,122 boys (63.52%) and 2,093,401 girls (36.47%). Overall, women have historically had significantly less access to education than men, both in urban and rural settings.
However, upon closer examination of individual cases, it becomes evident that the situation in certain districts is particularly severe. According to data from the Ministry of Education in 1400, a total of 71 districts lacked any educational facilities for girls. Some of these districts only had a limited number of co-educational schools, which only catered to lower grade levels. Out of these districts, only 15 in Kandahar province and 10 in Helmand province did not have any girls’ schools. In five districts of Kandahar, there were no mixed schools at all, meaning that no girls had the opportunity to attend school in those areas. This is despite the fact that in some districts, the number of female students actually exceeds that of male students. For instance, according to 2019 statistics from the Ministry of Education, the Jaghori district in Ghazni Province had a total of 19,021 female students and 17,820 male students enrolled in schools. Similarly, in the Jaghato district of the same province, there were 4,414 female students and 4,255 male students. It is important to note that these cases are relatively rare.
Another concern is the need for a balanced education system. Due to the majority of Afghanistan’s population residing in rural areas, it is crucial to have a higher number of schools in these regions compared to urban areas. In the same year, there were 5,150 urban schools, accounting for 28.2% of the total number of schools in the country. On the other hand, there were 12,765 schools in rural areas, making up 71.79% of the total. According to the 1401 statistics from the Department of Statistics and Information, Afghanistan’s total population is estimated to be 34.3 million, with 70.6% residing in rural areas, 25% in urban areas, and 4.4% being nomads. Hence, the proportion of rural schools (71.79%) aligns with the proportion of the population (70.6%), indicating that, when considering the population size, education during the republican era was inclusive, with an acceptable ratio of schools to the population. However, it is crucial to take into account other factors, particularly the dispersion of the population in villages. This leads to increased distances between homes and schools, which can hinder students’ access to education in certain cases. Furthermore, during the initial years of Hamid Karzai’s presidency, a significant number of rural schools lacked proper buildings, resulting in students studying in open spaces or under tents provided by UNICEF. While some rural schools were constructed using government funds and others through community contributions, many schools still lack proper infrastructure.
However, it should be noted that education has not been evenly distributed when we consider specific regions and provinces. This imbalance can be attributed to the Taliban’s presence in certain areas. The lack of security, primarily caused by the Taliban, has resulted in the deprivation of education for students in various parts of the country, including male students. Whenever the Taliban gained control, schools were forced to shut down. The group has been targeting schools for many years, but in 2011, it was reported that they reached an agreement with the Afghan government. This agreement entailed refraining from attacking schools in exchange for an increase in religious teachings within the educational system.
Based on the Ministry of Education’s statistics, there were 750 educational centers that were not operational nationwide in the year 1400. Out of these, 394 were schools for boys, 61 were schools for girls, and 150 were mixed-gender schools. The remaining inactive centers included teacher training institutions, Islamic education centers, and literacy programs. Notably, the highest number of inactive schools in 1400 were found in Kandahar Province, which is known as the birthplace and main stronghold of the Taliban. In total, 235 centers, including 204 schools, were closed in Kandahar that year. It is worth mentioning that no schools or educational centers were inactive in the provinces of Baghlan, Panjshir, Samangan, and Kabul.
The Second Emirate
In the second emirate, akin to the first emirate of the Taliban, women are being denied access to education and employment. However, this time, these limitations have been implemented gradually and consistently. Initially, the Taliban’s first measure was to prohibit girls from receiving education beyond the sixth grade. Subsequently, they enforced dress codes for female students, compelling them to wear long black dresses and black chadors. They also initiated programs that hindered women from teaching in schools. One such plan, implemented in Ghazni Province, involved relocating female teachers from urban schools to remote districts within the province.
In addition, the Taliban has prohibited the use of school uniforms and has recently implemented a new uniform policy in written form, emphasizing the Islamic nature of the attire and appearance of teachers and students.
At first, the Taliban implemented a policy of segregating male and female students, followed by separate days of education for girls and boys. Subsequently, on August 29, 1401, female students were prohibited from studying, creating uncertainty regarding the reopening of educational institutions for girls up to the present time. Furthermore, on December 22, 2022, educational centers and courses were shut down for girls. Recently, the Taliban interfered with a journalist training program in the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar due to the participation of female journalists.
Over the course of the past sixteen months, the Taliban has distributed educational materials to mullahs, enabling them to assume positions as professors in universities and schools. As a result, certain subjects such as culture, civil education, and formal art have been eliminated, with numerous mullahs being appointed as professors. Additionally, the number of Islamic Culture units in universities has been tripled, as part of a larger initiative to establish thousands of religious schools.
They have converted contemporary educational facilities into military installations and initiated the establishment of “jihadi madrasas” to train combatants. This group has also announced plans to establish 10 religious schools in every district and one significant jihadi madrasa in each province. Currently, several of these madrasas have been established, many of which have unlawfully taken over public buildings and private properties.
During this period, the sculptures of the Kabul University Art Faculty were vandalized and the music department was dismantled. Furthermore, the teaching of Jafari jurisprudence has been prohibited in universities. For a comprehensive account of the Taliban’s actions in the education sector during the first sixteen months of their return to power, please refer to this.
Prior to the Taliban’s second rise to power, they established a committee to assess the education curriculum. After several months of work, this committee presented its findings to the Taliban leadership. The report stated that “themes of bloodshed and violence will be reintroduced into the educational materials.” For a comprehensive overview of the Taliban curriculum committee’s efforts. The document, obtained by Daily Hasht-e-Subh, has been thoroughly analyzed in a special edition.
Previously, this group eliminated the teacher training organization from the Ministry of Education’s framework, citing its ineffectiveness.
Hence, the immediate future of education appears grim. The presence of the Taliban and their established government ensures that the struggle with modern knowledge and education will persist as a prominent characteristic. Consequently, the era of limited education will endure as long as the Taliban regime remains in power. Even if international pressure forces the group to reopen schools or present a facade of compliance, the period will still be marked by a lack of progress in education. This is due to the group’s intended curriculum and the employment of mullahs who lack formal education. The Taliban, like their predecessors, pose a significant obstacle to modern education that cannot be easily overcome. However, societies are destined to grow and progress through the adoption of modern education. Just as education has overcome various challenges in the past, it will eventually triumph over this obstacle as well. Until then, hundreds of thousands of students will either be completely deprived of education or receive substandard quality education.
The Taliban’s Vision for Education: Which Version Do They Seek?
The educational curriculum in Afghanistan does not align with the preferences of the Taliban. The current curriculum aims to discourage violence and does not promote or encourage students to engage in violent activities. However, the Taliban, who utilize schools and madrasas as facilities for producing and training fighters, reject any curriculum that does not bring them closer to their objectives. Conversely, the Taliban are interested in implementing a curriculum similar to that of Pakistani religious schools, where a significant number of their members and leaders received training.
It is reported that in these schools, religious teachings are delivered in a manner similar to that of the Taliban, instilling a combative mindset in students and even providing instruction on how to create explosives and use weapons. During their initial period of governance, the Taliban also sought to shape education in a way that would train individuals for combat, mirroring the practices observed in religious schools in Pakistan. Waheed Muzhda, a prominent Afghan writer, states that Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi established a large educational institution known as the “Farooqiyya School” in the social science building near Kabul Polytechnic. He appointed a Pakistani individual as the head teacher there, with the intention of implementing the teaching methods employed in Pakistani schools (Muzhda, 115).
The establishment of “jihadi schools” in various parts of the country over the past two years appears to have been influenced by schools in Pakistan. These schools are designed to train new forces and provide them to the regime to perpetuate violence. However, this objective does not always seem to be successfully accomplished, as demonstrated by the Taliban’s failure to achieve positive results from Farooqiyya School. Muzhda further explains that the focus on religious schools or the construction of schools had a primary goal of training the Taliban for warfare. When the United States threatened to attack Afghanistan, the students of Farooqiyya school were instructed to go to the trenches and fight. As a result, the students abandoned the school and fled.
In addition, the Taliban are not conducive to any form of religious education. This is because they aim to emphasize the religious aspect of their identity in order to gain political legitimacy independent of the people, relying on religion instead. An instance of this is the ban on teaching Jafari jurisprudence.
However, it should be noted that Jihadi schools have been established in various regions of the country to provide education to a significant number of orphaned children whose parents were members of the Taliban and have since passed away. These families, who have previously made the heartbreaking decision to send their young men to join the Taliban as fighters or suicide bombers, are now sending their children to these Jihadi schools with the intention of preparing them to become future fighters and suicide operatives for the Taliban. The educational materials used in these schools, which have been created by the Taliban, contain key terms such as “infidel,” “mujahid,” “jihad,” and others.
These books, some of which have had pages shared on social networks, are highly absurd and pose a potential threat. They feature Taliban leaders being presented as educators for teaching the alphabet. On one particular page, used to teach the letter “ی” (pronounced “ya” in Persian), it states: “There is یخ (pronounced “yakh” meaning “ice”) in our refrigerator. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid is the son of Mullah Muhammad Umar. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob has engaged in jihad against the American apostate occupiers.”
This group aims to incorporate contemporary subjects into the curriculum of madrasas in order to equip their graduates with the necessary theoretical knowledge for government positions and certain technical jobs. Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy of the Taliban prime minister, previously expressed the need for modern themes to be included in religious madrasas’ curriculum to enable their students to work in government offices. Consequently, the Taliban desires to train armed forces who are ideologically aligned with their beliefs, so that they can serve as future fighters for the group and occupy government positions once the conflict subsides. This approach would also result in the removal of non-Taliban forces from these offices.
Achieving Harmony Between Contemporary Education and Conventional Education
Ever since modern education was introduced in present-day Afghanistan, there has been a rivalry and conflict between traditional education and modern education. This conflict seems to stem from the competing interests of groups associated with each type of education. Mullahs and students of religious schools, who prioritize traditional education, sometimes openly or secretly oppose the rival type of education. Those who were proud of their literacy skills saw modern education as a formidable and popular competitor, rather than a companion. On the other hand, supporters of modern education have not taken a hostile stance against traditional education.
However, in reality, it is not possible to combine traditional education with modern education. Modern education focuses on preparing students for the future, while traditional education is rooted in the past. Additionally, traditional education tends to hinder true intellectual development. Although students may learn basic reading and writing skills, they are not equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in the modern world. The textbooks used in traditional education are outdated, often starting with ancient topics such as the “Baghdadi Rule” and continuing with other obsolete materials. For instance, when teaching Arabic literature in traditional education, outdated resources like “Sarf e Bahai” and “Sarf e Mir” are still relied upon, despite the fact that language and literature are constantly evolving and should be updated gradually.
The current curriculum of Arabic literature in traditional schools in Afghanistan focuses on teachings from centuries ago and does not closely align with modern Arabic language. Instead of learning important skills like computer literacy and modern scientific languages such as English, students are taught ancient Arabic literature. These schools also promote the idea that poverty is virtuous and students are trained to accept a life of poverty. They are taught that being patient in dealing with poverty will be rewarded, which discourages them from actively trying to overcome poverty. As a result, when these individuals enter society without specialized skills, they are unable to contribute to the economy and lack motivation. Traditional education, at best, produces educated individuals who lack practical skills, which is not sufficient in today’s society where literacy alone is not enough. This contributes to the overall backwardness of the society. When such individuals become decision-makers, they perpetuate this backwardness. The Taliban group serves as a current example of this phenomenon.
However, throughout the contemporary history of Afghanistan, there have been unsuccessful and desperate attempts to reconcile these two forms of education. These efforts were driven by necessity and the failure of modern forces against conservative ideologies. The first attempt was made around the same time as the introduction of modern education in the country by the government of Amanullah Khan. Recognizing the traditional society of that time, the government aimed to address some of the discontent within society, particularly from religious leaders, by incorporating modern subjects into the curriculum of traditional schools. This was in stark contrast to the current actions of the Taliban, who are attempting to bridge the gap between these two forms of education by eliminating modern influences. “The government sought to establish a connection between traditional and modern educational institutions by introducing contemporary books to be taught in these institutions” (Kamgar, 1377: 28).
The government took a significant step in this direction by establishing religious schools under the Ministry of Education. During the reign of Mohammad Zaher Shah, efforts were made to promote religious education alongside professional public education services. As a result, several religious educational institutions were established and operated under the Ministry of Education. According to the Ministry’s statistics in 1333, there were two chapters of Darul Uloom in Kabul and Paghman, three chapters in Herat, one chapter in Mazar-e-Sharif, one chapter in Mashriqi, and one chapter in Maimana that were active under the ministry’s framework.
According to data from the Ministry of Education in the year 1400, there were 794 schools, 219 Dar al-Hafaz, and 110 Darul Uloom operating under the Ministry. In that same year, a total of 318,072 students, including 84,015 girls, were enrolled in traditional education exclusively in public and private religious centers registered with the Ministry. It is worth noting that a significant number of religious schools are not officially registered by the government and are funded by public and sometimes questionable sources. When Rangina Hamidi was appointed as the Acting Minister of Education by President Ashraf Ghani, she announced a change in the structure of the Ministry of Education. The aim was to give Islam a prominent role in education, with students from the first to third grade being educated in mosques. This decision received mixed reactions. Eventually, the Ministry of Education decided to withdraw from this plan. Nooriah Nezhat, the spokesperson at the time, stated that the plan would only be implemented in disadvantaged areas. This decision was made during a time when the government of the modern republic was facing challenges from the traditional “So-called Emirate” of the Taliban. The Ghani government was willing to do whatever it took to gain support.
The Taliban has chosen a different approach than Amanullah Khan in this situation. They have opted to reduce the quality of education in schools and universities to align with religious madrasas, rather than improving it. Additionally, the Taliban has increased the emphasis on religious subjects in educational institutions. Mawlawi Habibullah Agha, the Acting Minister of Education for the Taliban, recently stated in Helmand Province that the distinction between schools, madrasas, and universities has been eliminated. The Taliban, who benefit from traditional education, believe that undermining modern education is advantageous for traditional education. Instead of modernizing the curriculum of religious schools to align with modern education, they are making the curriculum of modern education outdated to align with religious schools.
Read this article in Farsi here.