UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has announced that four million children in Afghanistan are deprived of schooling due to the lack of adequate educational infrastructure, clean drinking water, and especially a shortage of teachers — most notably female teachers.
In a report published today (Monday, June 2), the organization stated that children often drop out of school due to economic hardships and, in some cases, are forced into child labor to help support their families.
UNICEF emphasized that it is placing greater focus on recruiting female teachers, as families culturally consider this a more suitable option for their children.
The report notes that a number of teachers, supported by the organization, are striving to use creative methods to increase the attendance of girls below sixth grade in Afghanistan.
The UN children’s agency stressed that currently four million children in Afghanistan do not have access to education.
Part of the report highlights that, to reduce this deprivation and improve the quality of education, UNICEF — with financial support from the governments of Japan and South Korea — has trained dozens of female teachers in several provinces.
The report also shares the story of a female teacher who, after participating in a UNICEF-supported training program, was able to attract more students to school through games and group activities.
Lima Azizi, a third-grade teacher at Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq High School, stated that in the past month, student attendance in her school’s classes has increased by five percent.
Previously, UNICEF reported that one in three children in Afghanistan is out of school, with around 60 percent of those being girls.
This report is being released while, due to the policies of Afghanistan’s caretaker government, girls above sixth grade have been denied access to education for the fourth consecutive year.
Earlier, Amnesty International had reported that since the ban on girls’ education above the sixth grade, approximately 3.5 million girls have been deprived of schooling.
