The Taliban-administered National Examinations Authority announced the 2024 university entrance exam (Kankor) results on Sunday, revealing that Atal Khan Rahimzoi achieved the highest score with 359.61 points.
The exam was held in five phases but without girls.
Rahimzoi, a graduate of Habibia High School in Kabul, has been admitted to the Kabul University’s Faculty of Medicine.
According to the announcement, Hamid Hashimi, a graduate of the private Mehr High School in Balkh, secured second place with a score of 357.71, also gaining admission to Kabul University’s Faculty of Medicine.
Shafiullah Nizami, who scored 357.25, earned the third position and will be joining the Faculty of Medicine at Herat University.
The statement from the Taliban-run examination authority further noted that Ershad Ahmad, son of Mohammad Nauman Azimi, and Safiullah Mohajir, son of Mohammad Yousuf, secured the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
Despite these announcements, the Taliban has banned girls from participating in the Kankor exam. For nearly three years, the Taliban has closed schools above the sixth grade to girls and prohibited women from attending universities.
This policy continues to draw criticism from human rights organizations and the international community, who argue that it deprives half of the country’s population of their right to education and significantly hampers Afghanistan’s social and economic development.
