Taliban have announced that they are going to establish schools in at least six southern provinces of Afghanistan, on the instruction of their leaders including Mullah Muhammad Omar. The process which will start in March this year will first focus on boys’ education and then girls will also be provided chance to get education. They have also said that the West and Afghan government are involved in propagating by depicting Taliban as an anti-education force in Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman has said: “Taliban are not against education. The Taliban want Shariah (Islamic) education.”
The announcement of Taliban to promote education in Afghanistan is odd in the last eleven years. They have been involved in burning schools, throwing acid and attacking with poison on school-going girls and killing teachers. In certain provinces of Afghanistan where Taliban have greater influence, people do not send their children to schools as the Taliban have threatened to kill them if they dared the reverse. The Taliban had banned formal education for boys during their government and girl’s education was almost completely prohibited.
According to UNICEF statistics, the number of Afghan children that are out of school is 4.2 million. One of the main reasons behind this is the bad security condition prevailing in the country. For the same reason, hundreds of schools across Afghanistan remain shut. Taliban’s insurgency also poses serious threats for teachers, especially the female teachers. Lately, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said most of schools at district level lack qualified female teachers.
Taliban’s intention to operate schools in the country is a clear challenge to Karzai administration. It indicates the level of confidence in Taliban that is given birth by the influence they have maintained in certain parts of Afghanistan, specifically in southern provinces.
It is obvious what kind of stuff will be taught in schools funded and supervised by Taliban. They will try to inject their own ideology into the minds of the Afghan teenagers. Such schools if established would promote religious extremism in the country and also more suicide bombers will be trained.
If Taliban have changed their mindset towards education in Afghanistan, they must allow formal schools to operate in every corner of Afghanistan. Schools in Afghanistan teach both scientific and Islamic subjects. The government of Afghanistan must not allow Taliban to establish schools where extremism, religious hatred and other radical thoughts could be promoted.