UN Reaches Deal with Taliban to Set Up Schools in Afghanistan

By Massoud Ansar

TOLOnews

18 December 2020

Based on the agreement, about 4,000 schools in Taliban-influenced areas will teach 120,000 primary school children.

The United Nations has reached an agreement with the Taliban leadership to set up thousands of schools in areas under their influence in Afghanistan. According to the plan, UNICEF, the UN’s children’s body, at least 4,000 informal schools will operate in Taliban-influenced areas in the country.

The Telegraph reports that the deal has been achieved after months of negotiations with militant envoys in Doha. According to the Telegraph, the agreement covers education for both boys and girls but will begin with classes for just the first three grades of primary school.

UNICEF said it hoped the agreement would reach more than 120,000 young children in a country where an estimated 3.7 million are out-of-school, three-fifths of them girls, the Telegraph reported.

Some Afghans welcomed the plan with the hope to allow more children to go to schools. But some said that similar textbooks should be taught in the schools that are planned to be established in Taliban-influenced areas.

“The peace talks are one of the motives for the Taliban to show flexibility,” said Matiullah Sarwar, a journalist.

“Many children are out of school. We welcome this agreement,” said Malik Abulbari, a Logar resident.

The government so far has not commented on the UN and the Taliban’s decision.

“The textbooks that we study at school should be taught there. New books should not be added,” said Sahar Ali Zada, a student from Kabul.

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