Kunar’s remote areas students lack access to high education

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Residents of remote areas in eastern Kunar province complain their children’s education remains incomplete due to the lack of middle and high schools in their areas.

Mohammad Azim, a resident and tribal elder of Badar Mashal Valley in Nari district, told Pajhwok that thousands of people lived in the area, but only one primary school existed there.

He said Badar Mashal Valley was located 34 kilometers from the center of Nari district and even lacked a paved road.

“We are living in a mountainous area that is very far from the district center. The road is unpaved and is in bad condition.”

He said only one primary school was functional in their area and their children could not study beyond grade six because there was no middle or high school.

He added local people wanted to educate their children, but they lacked facilities and many children were left without education beyond the sixth grade.

Amanullah, a resident of Batash Dara area, said they had repeatedly urged the former government to build a high school in the area, but to no avail.

“Most of our children after ninth grade fail to continue their education because the high school is very far from us and the children cannot walk more than 33 kilometers to reach there.”

Similarly, Samiullah, a sixth-grade primary school student in the area, said: “I love education and want to become a doctor, but there is no education beyond the ninth grade in our area and I am worried that if a high school is not built here, I will not be able to continue my education.”

This problem is not limited to Nari district, but residents of the Karangal Valley in Manogi district also face the same problem.

Aminullah Shahab, a tribal elder from the valley, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Karangal Valley served as a frontline of the conflict in recent years and was paid no attention in many areas including education.

He added there was a high school in the center of Manogi district, but the road was long and it was difficult for children to reach there.

He said many young people in the area who had graduated from the ninth grade were now unemployed after being unable to pursue higher education.

Shahab said: “There are many large and small villages in the Karangal Valley, with a population of about 30,000, but we only have one middle school, which is not enough for our children.”

These residents asked the Islamic Emirate to build middle and high schools in their areas and upgrade the existing primary schools.

They expressed concern that if their children are not provided with an education beyond the sixth grade, they will be deprived of the blessing of education and will become a burden on society.

However, officials from the Kunar Education Department say that they are trying to take serious steps to improve education in the province, considering the problems and demands of the people.

Kunar Education Director Maulvi Mohibullah Haidari told Pajhwok Afghan News that he had shared his suggestions with the Ministry of Education regarding schools in Batash, Badar Mashal and other areas of Kunar that need upgrading.

He said he was expecting the upgrading work would begin practically with the start of the new academic year.

He did not say anything about the construction of new schools in these areas.

Kunar is a mountainous province in the east of the country near the Durand Line and people in remote areas face many problems when it comes to services in the fields of education, health, reconstruction, agriculture and telecommunication.

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