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ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan faces a nationwide learning crisis as the professional teaching workforce declines and millions of children stay out of school, according to reports from UNICEF and UNESCO. Data from late 2025 shows that over 90% of 10-year-olds in the country cannot read or understand a simple text. The figure was reported in the Afghanistan Education Situation Report 2025 published by UNESCO and UNICEF. More than 2.13 million primary school-aged children are currently out of school, according to UNICEF Afghanistan&#39;s late-2025 situational updates. When including secondary-aged youth, the total number of children out of the classroom reaches approximately 9 million. Workforce de-professionalization and staffing shifts The teaching workforce has undergone a significant shift since 2021. According to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and Human Rights Watch, the system previously employed 220,000 teachers, including 80,500 women. But the ban on women teaching boys created a critical shortage. Human Rights Watch reported in December 2023 that women previously made up 90% of some school staff in urban centers like Kabul. In addition, specialized women educators, who often held degrees in physics, chemistry, and biology, have been frequently replaced. According to the Afghanistan Education Situation Report 2025, these roles are now often filled by male teachers in lower primary grades or by community members with only a high school diploma. New recruitment mandates now require applicants to pass tests on &quot;Emirate Studies.&quot; According to administrative records and a January 2025 report from a local Afghan news outlet, this booklet was written by Qari Abdul Sattar Said and Syed Noor Mohammad Mohib Korabi to promote the interim government&#39;s narrative. Economic instability for educators Public school teachers earn an average monthly salary of approximately 8,000 AFN ($127), according to Amu TV on March 23, 2025. Educators informed the news outlet that these wages are frequently delayed by two months or more. This leaves many unable to afford basic needs like rent or food. However, some relief has come through international projects. The World Bank&rsquo;s Education Emergency Response in Afghanistan (EERA) supported the recruitment of 5,050 teachers for community-based education. The group includes 1,868 women, as per project data. In a report released on March 15, UNICEF said that it invested in training 54,000 teachers in 2025. The program used multiple phases and structured follow-up to help teachers apply new methods. Crumbling infrastructure and curriculum changes School facilities remain in poor condition across the country. According to the Afghanistan Education Situation Report 2025, nearly 50% of schools lack safe buildings or sanitation facilities. Approximately 79% operate without electricity. Natural disasters and conflict have forced over 1,000 schools to remain closed, according to UNESCO in 2025. In Kunar province, roughly 25,000 children were still learning in tents six months after a major earthquake on August 31, 2025, according to a report from Save the Children. In a move that raised eyebrows, the Ministry of Higher Education overhauled the academic curriculum in late August 2025, removing a number of subjects. A directive issued by the deputy minister for academic affairs eliminated 18 subjects, including human rights, gender equality, and political science, according to local news outlets. Meanwhile, the BBC reported in September 2025 that 679 academic books were banned from universities for being &quot;inconsistent&quot; with &quot;local values.&quot; Systematic exclusion and economic impact Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to forbid girls and women from attending secondary and higher education. This ban is projected to cost the Afghan economy $9.6 billion by 2066, according to the Afghanistan Education Situation Report 2025. The restriction has also fueled a sharp rise in &quot;NEET&quot; rates (young women not in education, employment, or training). By 2024 alone, this rate reached 78%, nearly four times that of men, as reported in the 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index published by UN Women. This growing divide places a heavy burden on the nation&#39;s future economic stability and is seen by analysts as one that must be addressed immediately.

A situation report by UN in 2025 stated that the number of female university faculty members has plummeted by 70% since 2021. (UNICEF)

Afghanistan

Millions of children remain out of school as professional educators are removed and university faculty numbers plummet across Afghanistan, according to reports from UNICEF and UNESCO.

Afghanistan’s education system faces collapse as professional teachers vanish

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman stated that the government is dedicated to creating a Bangladesh where men and women have equal rights and women can contribute to family, state, and society with respect, dignity, and security. In a message marking International Women&rsquo;s Day, observed on March 8, the PM said equality must become a promise fulfilled in society. &ldquo;In our society, let equality be a promise, dignity a reality, and empowerment the foundation of development,&rdquo; he said. This year, the day is being observed with the theme &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s steps, tomorrow&rsquo;s justice: Protect the rights of women and girls.&rdquo; The Prime Minister said sustainable development of a country is possible only when women&rsquo;s rights, education, health, security, and participation are ensured. In this context, he described the theme of this year&rsquo;s International Women&rsquo;s Day as highly significant. Rahman noted that nearly half of the world&rsquo;s population is women and said no nation can achieve development if women remain outside the mainstream of the state, government, and politics. &ldquo;In particular, if women&rsquo;s economic empowerment is not ensured, the benefits of overall development cannot be fully achieved,&rdquo; he said. Highlighting the role of former president Zia ur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, he said their leadership contributed significantly to women&rsquo;s political and economic empowerment in Bangladesh. The PM said the government has introduced the &ldquo;Family Card&rdquo; program to strengthen women&rsquo;s economic empowerment and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring women&rsquo;s effective participation in all sectors, including education, the economy, health and politics. &ldquo;Our goal is to implement our election pledges by introducing free education up to the postgraduate level, increasing women&rsquo;s participation in higher education, providing free school uniforms for girls and expanding digital learning facilities and modern education systems,&rdquo; he said. Rahman added that the government is also prioritizing women&rsquo;s safety and has taken a strong stance against cyberbullying and online harassment targeting women. He said ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for women is essential for building a just and prosperous society.

Bangladesh

In a message marking International Women’s Day, observed on March 8, the PM Tarique Rahman said equality must become a promise fulfilled in society. 'In our society, let equality be a promise, dignity a reality, and empowerment the foundation of development,' he said.

Bangladeshi PM Rahman vows equal rights for men, women

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has officially launched the Insaf Female Education Card, a financial safety net aimed at ensuring higher education is free for female students and orphans in public sector institutions.&nbsp;The initiative, announced last week by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi at Frontier College for Women, Peshawar, is being actively rolled out under his administration.&nbsp;Secretary Higher Education KP Kamran Ahmed Afridi told Pakistan TV Digital that &ldquo;the groundwork for this scheme was laid during the tenure of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, highlighting a sustained commitment to education reform across political transitions.&rdquo;&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, Muzzammil Aslam, Advisor Finance &amp; Inter-Provincial Coordination to the Chief Minister KP, said the provincial government had declared an &ldquo;education emergency&rdquo; to prioritize female education.&nbsp;&ldquo;Even when girls manage to attend school, many parents still do not allow them to study further. To encourage parents to send their daughters for higher education, an endowment-based scholarship fund has been created,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;The program targets financial barriers that often prevent girls from continuing education in rural areas. &ldquo;In many families, sons are prioritized for college if funds are limited. This scheme will help girls avail higher education along with boys,&rdquo; Afridi said.&nbsp;The scheme specifically targets female students and orphans, aiming to improve retention and ensure state guardianship for vulnerable students.&nbsp;The card functions as a complete tuition waiver. According to the Higher Education Department, it covers all admission, examination, and tuition fees, ensuring financial constraints do not force students to abandon their studies after matriculation.&nbsp;Aslam added that the Chief Minister had approved a two-billion-rupee scholarship endowment fund, from which nearly 14,000 girls, including 1,731 orphaned students, will benefit.&nbsp;&ldquo;Until the endowment fund becomes fully operational, the provincial government will issue Rs325 million [$1.15 million] from the provincial finance department for the first phase,&rdquo; he explained.&nbsp;He said that as of 11 November 2025, Rs118 million ($418,050) have already been released for 54,354 girls, including 1,730 orphans, a figure that also includes 3,442 girls and 207 orphans from the merged districts.&nbsp;&ldquo;In the future, the endowment fund will make the program sustainable. If more girls qualify, the fund will be expanded,&rdquo; he noted, adding that scholarships will eventually be financed through the fund&rsquo;s own income to avoid repeated budget requests.&nbsp;Social activist Spogmay Masood praised the initiative, telling Pakistan TV Digital: &ldquo;This is an excellent initiative by the Government, as long as it&#39;s sustainable and can be scalable in the future so more and more girls and orphans can be incentivised to go for higher education.&rdquo;&nbsp;The rollout will initially benefit 54,085 students across KP, including 52,354 female students and 1,731 orphans. To support the program, the provincial cabinet approved an Endowment Fund of Rs2 billion ($7.09 million) last year.&nbsp;Meanwhile, the Finance Department provided an interim allocation of Rs325 million, of which Rs118.367 million ($419,500) has already been reimbursed to institutions as of November 11, 2025.&nbsp;The initiative emphasizes inclusivity, with particular focus on the Merged Districts (formerly FATA) and underprivileged areas with low female literacy. Initial data shows 3,472 female students and 207 orphans from these regions are enrolled.&nbsp;Operationally, the secretary clarified that students must be enrolled in government institutes. Once eligibility is confirmed, the government reimburses the institution directly, &ldquo;bypassing the red tape often associated with cash-transfer scholarships,&rdquo; the department said.&nbsp;According to social activist Rabia Qayyum, &ldquo;The launch of the Insaf Female Education Card by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government marks an important and commendable step toward gender equality and social inclusion.&rdquo;&nbsp;She said by providing free intermediate-level education to nearly 55,000 female students and orphaned children in public colleges, the initiative aims to remove one of the most significant obstacles young women encounter, the financial burden of pursuing further studies.&nbsp;&ldquo;So it&#39;s a marvelous step by the government,&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;The Insaf Female Education Card represents a strategic shift in KP&rsquo;s education policy, moving from infrastructure development to direct student investment, and aims to institutionalize the right to education for the province&rsquo;s daughters.

Education

The Insaf Female Education Card represents a strategic shift in KP’s education policy, moving from infrastructure development to direct student investment, and aims to institutionalize the right to education for the province’s daughters.

Articles tagged with "Women Education"

Afghanistan’s education system faces collapse as professional teachers vanish

Bangladeshi PM Rahman vows equal rights for men, women

Pakistan rolls out free education card for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s young women