KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Higher Education, while announcing that public sector universities would be opened in the near future, called on Afghan professional figures abroad to return to their homeland and contribute to the development of their country.
Acting Minister of Higher Education Sheikh Abdul Baqi Haqqani told a news conference in Kabul today that the Afghan government was committed to both men and women’s education and protecting the country’s educational institutions.
He stressed that the education system should be able to defend Islam, saying that efforts are being made to improve Afghanistan’s education system equal to other developed countries.
He cited economic problems and lack of Islamic education environment as the reasons why government universities remained shut, but said that the problem would be resolved soon and universities would be reopened for students.
“The Afghan people want their daughters to be educated, but they do not want co-education. They do not want an immoral and un-Islamic environment…,” he said.
Stressing that mixed education is contrary to Islamic principles, he said that coeducation had been proven to have negative effects and that female students could focus more on their education in separate classes.
“In these 20 years of occupation, serious damage has been done to various sectors, especially the education sector,” he added.
There was no damage made to educational institutes during the takeover of power by the Islamic Emirate, he said.
Haqqani once again called on academics abroad to return to their homeland and contribute to the development of their country.
He said that there are 40 public universities and about 150 private universities in the country, all of the private universities have been open since September 6.
He considered economic problems as the only challenge to starting public universities, adding that public universities would open in the near future.
He said that thousands of Afghan students are currently studying at foreign universities and the government is working to provide higher education for more students through scholarships abroad.
Haqqani said that they had discussed their problems with ministries of higher education and envoys of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and the European Union, who had promised to help on the regard.
In response to a question about girls attendance of universities, he said “In general there is no difference between a boy and a girl and both have the right to education, only the methods are different.”
He said they encouraged students who passed 1400 solar year entry exams and helped students who failed to find way to state universities, to be enrolled in private universities with 20 to 70 percent discount.
The Ministry of Higher Education is committed to standardizing all educational institutes and those private universities which have no licenses would not be allowed to operate, he said.
On the other hand, Haqqani announced the plan to build a university at the international level, which will have engineering, medicine, law and agriculture faculties and will be able to teach up to master’s degree.
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