The Taliban have repeatedly claimed to be combating administrative and financial corruption in Afghanistan. However, reports indicate that widespread corruption continues in government institutions under the group’s control, with many Taliban officials involved in corrupt practices. Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily regarding the Directorate of Education in Nimruz province, managed by the Taliban, reveal that the Taliban head of education in this province is extensively involved in corruption. According to the report, he has engaged in unprecedented favoritism and illegal appointments, as well as participating in the buying and selling of positions and financial corruption. Sources say he has formed a network through which he perpetuates corruption.
Informed sources state that the Taliban head of education in Nimruz is corrupt. According to the sources, he is also old, incapacitated, and ill. The sources emphasize that in addition to corruption, he supports corrupt individuals in this department and has no plans for the growth and advancement of education in the province.
Based on the sources’ statements, the Taliban head of education has supported individuals involved in corruption over the past two years and consults with them on the department’s daily affairs. The sources further claim that he has established a team to sustain and conceal corruption. According to the sources, members of this team collaborate through various methods, including collecting money from contracts and buying and selling positions, and operate in coordination.
Financial Corruption in the Nimruz Directorate of Education
The report’s findings indicate that Gul Ahmad Haqqani, the Taliban head of education in Nimruz Province, has been receiving 25,000 Afghanis per month from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the past two years under the pretext of supervising local classes, although no such supervision has taken place. According to sources, this money is pocketed by the Taliban head of education, even though the funds should be allocated to members of the Teachers’ Professional Development Committee responsible for monitoring schools in Zaranj city and the districts of the province.
Sources confirm that at the beginning of 2024, the Taliban head of education in Nimruz and the Taliban head of Islamic education in this group received four million Afghanis in financial aid from the United Arab Emirates, given to the Taliban governor of the province under the title of zakat for distribution in religious schools in Nimruz. However, no credible documents indicate that the two officials distributed the full amount. It appears that they distributed no more than 10 percent of the total funds.
The report’s findings further reveal that the Taliban head of education in Nimruz province receives funds for fuel, lubricants, and vehicle repairs, although all vehicles are non-operational. The directorate possesses one Tata vehicle, one Surf, one Folder, one Luxel, one Mazda cargo vehicle, and one tractor. Except for the Luxel and the tractor, the other vehicles are out of service. Nevertheless, monthly payments for fuel, lubricants, and repairs are drawn separately for each vehicle from the directorate’s budget and pocketed by officials. According to sources, the Luxel vehicle is used for the director’s personal trips to Helmand province, where he owns a house.
The Taliban’s Director of Education in Nimruz received 2,700 liters of fuel from UNICEF from March 14, 2024, until two months ago, designated for official purposes. However, part of this fuel was also used for personal vehicles. UNICEF purchased this fuel to hold seminars and provide electricity for generators. The funds were handed over with blank invoices to the Taliban Director of Education from separate purchasing committees for each seminar period, while the fuel invoices were procured by the contracting organization. The cash was then delivered to the Taliban’s Director of Education by a UNICEF employee whose name has been omitted from the report.
The report’s findings indicate that the Taliban’s Director of Education in Nimruz received 250,000 Afghanis in 2024 to repair and clean Kamalkhana School in Chahar Burjak district. However, only about 10% of this amount was likely spent, while the rest was divided between the director and the financial department. Additionally, the Taliban’s Director of Education receives 30,000 Afghanis from the department’s budget for repairing a tractor and a Mazda vehicle, but neither the tractor nor the Mazda was repaired or used. The tractor, intended to supply water to schools and administrative offices, reportedly incurred 70,000 Afghanis in water costs and consumed 300 liters of fuel monthly over the past year, while school officials claim they have not received any water.
According to the findings, the director has been withdrawing funds from the education budget for vehicle repairs over the past three years, even though the department’s vehicles are inoperative. While receiving a monthly salary of 70,000 Afghanis, the Taliban’s Director of Education has continued to use an electricity meter registered in the department’s name for his private home for the past two years.
The Taliban official in Nimruz has also exploited the literacy program budget. Sources confirm that no classes exist, no materials are distributed, and all established classes are fictitious. The report shows that partner organizations working with the education department are managed by individuals close to the Taliban’s Director of Education. One such organization completed its literacy project without any supervision throughout the course. Sources added that only a few limited classes were shown to the Taliban’s education department supervisors.
Another organization, whose name is omitted in the report, established local classes in cooperation with an international education organization. However, the Taliban’s Director of Education received the supervision fees without any monitoring conducted. Purchases and reports from this organization were verbally approved by the director’s office manager on behalf of the education department. Purchased items in districts differ from the agreement, and only 30% of the literacy courses in the Delaram district were operational.
Appointments and Selling of Positions
Credible sources state that the General Manager of Human Resources in Nimruz’s Directorate of Education, in coordination with the director, sells school and education department positions at various prices. The human resources recruitment manager is also involved in appointments, transfers, and collecting money from these appointments, with all funds going to the General Manager of Human Resources.
Sources report that the General Manager of Human Resources, in coordination with the Taliban’s Director of Education, has sold school manager positions and education department posts to unqualified individuals. They reference Shaheed Naheed Girls’ High School, Qader Khan Girls’ High School, Shaheed Gul Mohammad Primary School, Esteqlal Girls’ High School, and Farrokhi High School, stating that the principal of Qader Khan Girls’ High School, with only a 12th-grade education, was appointed while experienced teachers with bachelor’s degrees are present at the schools.
According to the Taliban’s Ministry of Education directives, educational appointments require the approval of the Education and Training Supervisor. However, the General Manager of Human Resources has hired dozens of individuals against the ministry’s orders, appointing his relatives to education department and school positions. Among these individuals are Mastura, daughter of Sayed Maqamuddin; Fatema Mohammad Hassan, a teacher at Zaranj Girls’ High School; Najibullah Rahmani’s nephew, Lailma, daughter of Eid Mohammad, a teacher at Siah Cheshman School, and the sister of Hasibullah and Najibullah’s son, all appointed without open competition.
The report reveals that Zaqoom Ahmadi, with only a 12th-grade education, was appointed General Financial Manager by the Taliban’s Director of Education and the human resources manager, despite the presence of bachelor’s and baccalaureate holders in the department.
Sources report that at the Dahmarda Girls’ High School, where both the father and his daughter serve as school trustee and administrator, Rahima, daughter of Mohammad Hashim, applied to the Ministry of Education for a principal position but was rejected by Najibullah Rahmani. Instead, in coordination with Bahauddin, whose daughter is a teacher at the same school, Rahmani appointed Bahauddin’s daughter as principal in exchange for 60,000 Afghanis, violating the Taliban’s Ministry of Education order.
Sources confirm that a senior teacher at Zaranj Girls’ High School, who was dismissed due to her daughter’s illness, submitted medical documents and several letters from the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, but Najibullah Rahmani rejected them. Finally, after receiving 30,000 Afghanis from the teacher, Rahmani forwarded her reinstatement proposal. These funds were shared among Najibullah Rahmani, the director, and the recruitment department.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Education has instructed that quality assurance directors in provincial education departments must receive approval from the Deputy Minister for Quality Assurance before appointments. However, Najibullah Rahmani, without obtaining the deputy minister’s approval, reportedly appointed Reza, son of Mohammad Salim, as Quality Assurance Director in 2024 in exchange for 50,000 Afghanis. Reza was previously the Director of Coordination and Integration.
Hiring of 17 Family Members
Najibullah Rahmani, the Human Resources Manager of the Nimruz Directorate of Education, in coordination with the director, has hired 17 first-degree family members in the directorate and various schools. After the implementation of the new structure of the Directorate of Education in 2024, Hasibullah, Najibullah Rahmani’s son, was appointed as an audit member. The approval document of the structure explicitly stated that Hasibullah, who was appointed against his field of study, should not be assigned as the IT Manager. However, Najibullah rehired his son as the General Manager of Information Technology through a renewed proposal.
The document also mentioned another individual named Zabihullah, son of Mohammad Nabi, for the technology management position in the new structure of the Nimruz Directorate of Education. However, this proposal was rejected by the Ministry of Education, and he was subsequently appointed as an audit member. Despite this, Najibullah Rahmani violated the rules by not proposing him for the position and solely recommending his son, whose appointment was approved, although he had served as an audit member for less than a month.
The Taliban Directorate of Education in Nimruz appoints individuals with 12th-grade diplomas as managers instead of those with bachelor’s degrees and assigns educated individuals as subordinates to these managers. Ehsanullah, Najibullah Rahmani’s son and the education trustee of the city, is reportedly involved in several thefts of the Directorate’s property. However, due to his father’s partnership in corruption with the Taliban education director, his dismissal is prevented. The Taliban court also investigated the theft charges, but he continues his job. Sources say he once took the Directorate’s cupboard home and sold it in the market for one million Iranian tomans a few months ago. About a month ago, he also stole a bicycle, was imprisoned for one month, and was then released to resume his job. His father, using his influence, accounts for the stolen goods as government expenses.
Abdul Sattar Rahmani, Najibullah Rahmani’s nephew with a 14th-grade diploma, has been appointed to a Grade 4 position that requires a bachelor’s degree. Meanwhile, several young people with bachelor’s degrees meeting the position’s criteria are available. Maryam, Najibullah Rahmani’s daughter with a 12th-grade diploma, was appointed as a teacher at Zaranj Girls’ High School without open competition through the human resources office, while hundreds of women with bachelor’s and 14th-grade diplomas are unemployed.
Azita, another daughter of Najibullah, was appointed through the entrance exam as a teacher at the Talayi School in the Kang District in 2021. However, she has never attended the Talayi School and has instead been serving in the schools of Zaranj city. Her father recently transferred her to Esteqlal High School as a teacher.
Nilofar, daughter of Hafizullah and Najibullah Rahmani’s niece, was initially appointed at the Mullah Akram School in Kang District and later transferred to the Siah Cheshman School in Zaranj city. After a while, she was officially hired as a teacher at this school. Sources say she never worked a day in Kang District and only used the teacher quota to stay in Zaranj city.
Maryam, another daughter of Najibullah Rahmani with a 12th-grade diploma, was appointed at Zaranj Girls’ High School without open competition and later transferred to Esteqlal High School. She was also granted a 25,000 Afghanis loan despite having only one year of work experience.
Abdul Rahman, son of Habibullah and Najibullah Rahmani’s nephew, was appointed without open competition as an executive officer of foundation education. Additionally, Abdul Nasir, another nephew of Habibullah, was appointed by decree as an executive officer of literacy education, despite neither having educational certificates.
Three members of Najibullah Rahmani’s family work as teachers at Esteqlal Girls’ High School. The school principal, having lost his job, lacks the legal authority to act against them. Meanwhile, another teacher from the school was forcibly transferred to Shaheed Nahid School and later to Zaranj Girls’ High School.
Employees Fleeing and Dismissal in the Education Sector
Findings from the report indicate that since Gul Ahmad Haqqani was appointed as the Taliban’s head of education in Nimruz, more than 20 education staff and teachers have left their jobs or been transferred to similar positions in other government departments due to illegal conduct and coercion. Gulbuddin Sharifi, the first deputy of the Taliban’s education department, was dismissed by Haqqani and transferred to the Ministry of Public Health. Tajuddin Mazhari, the head of Darul Uloom Nabawi, has been relocated to the Islamic Teachers’ Training School. Jawad Omari, an employee of the finance and administrative department, was transferred to the Directorate of Information and Culture. Ali Ahmad Ahmadi, an employee of the Results and Certificates Department, was reassigned to the Public University Directorate. Farid Ahmad, a procurement department employee, was transferred to the Directorate of Labor and Social Affairs in the province. Dr. Homayoun Habib, the health manager of the education department, has been transferred to the UNICEF organization. Kamaluddin Nazari has also joined the International Organization for Migration.
Ghulam Ali Ghairatmal, the former head of quality assurance, has been transferred to the Kabul Municipality. Fardin, an employee of the literacy education department, left his job and joined the vaccination program. Mullah Nazifullah Osmani, the head of educational supervision, was transferred to the Technical Education Directorate. Mullah Yar Mohammad Haqyar, the head of Islamic education, left his job and was transferred to the Directorate of Foreign Relations. Farzad Faqiri, an Islamic education employee, resigned. Mahmoud Sarwari, a property department employee, left his job. Wahid Sarwari, a member of the monitoring and evaluation team, resigned. Mostafa Rezaei, an employee of the finance and administrative department, also left his job.
Most of these employees had worked in Nimruz’s education department for between 5 to 10 years but were forced to resign or were dismissed due to their inability to stand up against the head and his team. Some of these individuals are currently unemployed. Najibullah Rahmani has been working in the human resources management department for over 15 years. Money related to transfers and appointments is collected by Baz Mohammad and transferred to Ali Mohajer. Additionally, one of his employees Zameer, receives money for processing petitions and takes 600 Afghanis from teachers for loans.
On November 6, 2022, a high-level delegation led by the head of the Taliban’s Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Nimruz reviewed matters related to education. The delegation’s report recommended the demotion of Najibullah Rahmani due to financial and administrative corruption and misuse of authority. However, this decision was not implemented due to his agreements with the head of education. Recently, another delegation was tasked with addressing employee complaints and investigating corruption in the department, but the outcome is expected to be fruitless due to bribery.
Sources state that this individual is supported by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, and even the group’s General Directorate of Intelligence is unable to arrest him despite knowing the extent of corruption within Nimruz’s education department. According to sources, anyone attempting to counter corruption is quickly dismissed. Since Mullah Haqqani’s appointment as head of education, the department’s doors have been completely closed to women. If female principals or teachers need to visit education offices for administrative matters, they must hand over official documents to the gatekeeper behind the department building and wait for hours outside the office for the paperwork to be processed.
You can read the Persian version of this Investigative Report here:
ادعای مبارزه با فساد طالبان؛ در ریاست معارف نیمروز چی میگذرد ؟ | روزنامه ۸صبح
