With the Taliban controlling Afghanistan, concerns have grown over their revenge-driven actions and ideological confrontations targeting university professors and academic curricula. Over the past three and a half years, the Taliban have not only altered the curriculum but also removed or forced numerous university professors to resign through ideological and ethnic confrontations. Recently, they dismissed 12 professors from the “Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University” in Kunar province, accusing them of being “Salafi.” Among those dismissed, eight were from the Faculty of Sharia, two from the Faculty of Agriculture, and two from the Faculty of Education. Professors and students argue that under Taliban policies, the future of Afghanistan’s educational system appears bleak and perilous. They report that hope and motivation among students and professors are rapidly diminishing, with many seeking to leave the country. These individuals view the Taliban’s approach to universities and academic institutions as an act of educational destruction, effectively transforming them into madrasas.
The Taliban are pursuing both ideological revenge and the “Talibanization” of universities by targeting professors who oppose their ideology. In addition to dismissing individuals based on political affiliations, they have also removed professors they accuse of being Salafi. For instance, the Taliban recently dismissed 12 professors from the “Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University” in Kunar province for their alleged Salafi beliefs.
Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the dismissed professors included eight from the Faculty of Sharia, two from the Faculty of Agriculture, and two from the Faculty of Education. The names of those dismissed are Shah Wali, Abdulhadi Nooristani, Noorulhaq, Nematullah Mohsin, Ziaurrahman, Fazl-ur-Rahman Safi, Abdul Latif Abid, Abdullah Noori, and Hamidullah.
Meanwhile, sources at Kabul University report worsening academic conditions, describing the situation as far graver than depicted in the media. They highlight ongoing ideological confrontations and inappropriate behavior toward professors. Additionally, the Taliban have been appointing their clerics as professors, often sidelining qualified individuals. The sources accuse the Taliban of intensifying ethnic and linguistic confrontations at universities, leading many professors to resign.
Previously, the Taliban dismissed professors who had traveled abroad. They removed around 50 professors in Balkh, 300 in Herat, and dozens from other universities. Additionally, professors who had obtained scholarships to study abroad were replaced with Taliban-affiliated individuals.
Students and professors report that the Taliban are systematically turning universities into madrasas. Alongside dismissing professors, they are altering curricula, engaging in ideological confrontations, and prioritizing clerics over qualified educators. These practices, coupled with a lack of legal structure and clerical dominance, have driven many professors to leave universities.
Ahmad, a student at a state university, describes the educational situation as dire. He explains that the dismissal of specialist professors, coupled with the appointment of clerics, has significantly reduced interest in academic study and research. “The educational system is collapsing,” he laments. “Everyone—from teachers to students—is hopeless and trying to escape the country.”
Azima (pseudonym), a university professor banned from teaching for over two years due to Taliban restrictions, expresses grave concerns. She notes that most female professors have been dismissed due to the Taliban’s misogynistic policies, with ideological and Taliban-affiliated individuals taking their place. She warns that the future of higher education under such methods is not only bleak but also dangerous.
These concerns echo earlier statements by Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the acting head of the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education. Nadeem dismissed the examination of Taliban members to validate their academic ranks as “disrespectful to religious scholars,” suggesting that a “Taliban fighter’s” academic qualifications should be based on the number of mine-laying operations performed. He also criticized Amanullah Khan’s efforts to encourage women’s education, calling it a source of “decadence and debauchery” in Afghanistan.
Recently, Hasht-e Subh Daily published a leaked audio recording of a speech by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in which he called for the closure of schools for both girls and boys before entering Kandahar. In his speech, Hibatullah denounced modern schools as contrary to the Taliban’s madrasa system and urged the establishment of madrasas instead. He claimed that modern schools corrupt morals and described their education as “the knowledge of the stomach.”
Following several directives against women and girls, the Taliban Supreme Leader also issued an order banning their education in medical institutes, sparking widespread domestic and international condemnation. Sources previously revealed that Hibatullah plans to bar girls over 13 years of age—currently allowed to study up to sixth grade—from attending school in the next academic year. According to these sources, Hibatullah stated that girls over 13 are “eligible for marriage.”
In addition, Hasht-e Subh Daily obtained a report from the Taliban’s “Curriculum Review Committee,” which highlights sweeping changes to align the educational curriculum with their ideology. The revised curriculum excludes images of living creatures and human rights issues while justifying bloodshed and destruction and promoting jihad. The Taliban have openly opposed women’s education and freedoms, emphasizing content focused solely on the Islamic world and fostering hostility toward the non-Islamic world, particularly the West.
A report by the Pakistani media outlet Samaa TV also revealed that a madrasa in Nangarhar province, known as “Tarteel al-Quran,” specializes in teaching suicide bombings. Furthermore, Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a directive mandating each Taliban madrasa to house 500 to 1,000 students in dormitories and provide a daily allowance of 150 Afghanis per student. The directive also requires every religious and jihadi school to have at least 10 teachers.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
