KABUL - In a recent report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), it is alleged that officials from the Afghan Ministry of Education (MoE) have repeatedly provided fraudulent data to donors in order to personally profit off of donations for schools.

"Ministers have reported that no schools are open in the insecure parts of Afghanistan, but former officials have forged the numbers and have embezzled the money," SIGAR head John Sopko said on Thursday. "These claims show that the United States might have paid aid money for schools that did not exist."

Current Minister of Education Asadullah Haneef Bakhi has discussed the "ghost schools" and fraudulent statistics in the past, and said such corruption has made it difficult for his ministry to approach donors for legitimate needs.

"In some of the insecure areas, there are no schools, but the benefits, opportunities, money for infrastructure, money for teachers and so on have been taken," Minister Bakhi told TOLOnews.

According to SIGAR, as of March 31, 2015, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had spent 769 million USD to support education in Afghanistan. (Tolonews)