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Nearly 50,000 Kunar children attend village classes, seminaries

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Education officials in eastern Kunar province say nearly 50,000 children in remote areas of the province who lack access to formal schools are currently receiving education through village-based classes and seminaries.

Mohibullah Haidari, head of the Kunar Education Department, told Pajhwok Afghan News the village-based classes and madrasas have been established in areas without formal schools,

He said: “With the help of various partner organizations, we have established 1,245 local classes across different parts of Kunar, where over 37,000 children are receiving education up to the third grade.”

In addition to these local classes, 162 village madrasas (seminaries) have also been set up in different parts of the province, where more than 11,000 children are currently studying.

However, he did not clarify where children will continue their education after completing the third grade in these village classes and madrasas.

Haidari added that although more than 20,000 children have been enrolled in formal schools this year, many others in remote mountainous areas still lack access to education due to the long distance to nearest schools.

According to him, there are currently 484 schools operating in Kunar, but 280 of them lack proper buildings. As a result, students study in rented houses or outdoors under trees and beside walls.

He urged the Ministry of Education and aid organizations to prioritize the construction of school buildings and the establishment of new schools in underserved areas.

Meanwhile, Liaqat, a resident of the mountainous Gurgam area near Asadabad city, said that there is no formal school in their area, and their children attend local village classes instead.

He said: “The nearest school is far from our village, and my two children—aged seven and eight—could not make the long journey on foot. Now that local classes have been established in our area, I am happy, and both of my children are enrolled.”

Farhad Samsor, a resident of Manogai district, said: “We appreciate the Education Department’s efforts in providing learning opportunities for our children in the village because the schools are far from us, and we live in a mountainous region. Our children were unable to walk for hours to attend school.”

Residents are calling for special attention to be given to the education sector in Kunar and for opportunities to be created for secondary education (high schools) in remote mountainous areas.

Sayed Karim, a resident of the Daridam area of Manogai district, said they are pleased with the establishment of village classes and madrasas for children in mountainous areas but urged that proper school buildings should also be constructed for them.

Similarly, Haji Abdul Rauf, a tribal elder and resident of Asadabad city, said that due to past years of conflict and insecurity, the education sector in Kunar has been largely neglected.

He said: “Many schools in our province have no buildings, and students study under the open sky. As rainfall and high temperatures increase, this often disrupts the learning process.”

But how much and in what ways do the lack of formal classrooms and proper school buildings affect education?

Khalilullah Hanif, a lecturer at the Faculty of Education at Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan University in Kunar, emphasized the importance of a proper learning environment for students.

He urged the government to build standard facilities for schools and academic centers.

He said: “Many schools in Kunar do not have buildings, which negatively affects the educational process. When a proper academic and scientific environment is created for students, they will be able to learn more effectively.”

Likewise, Dr. Sayed Asghar Hashimi, another professor at the same faculty, highlighted the importance of establishing local classes in rural areas. He added that students who benefit from these classes can then continue with higher levels of education.

Hashimi said: “Education is a basic human right. It is essential that all members of society have access to learning opportunities. In areas where children are far from schools, the establishment of local classes is necessary and helps in combating illiteracy.”

This is not only the situation in Kunar. Across many provinces in the country, numerous remote areas still lack schools. Where schools do exist, they often face a shortage of buildings or operate in tents with the help of aid organizations due to the lack of proper infrastructure and classrooms.

sa/ma

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