KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban on Wednesday confirmed a reduction in staffing levels across public institutions, a day after a leaked document revealed the elimination of 90,000 positions in the Ministry of Education under orders from the Taliban’s leader.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, acknowledged the cuts in a televised interview but did not directly address the Education Ministry figures. He said the reductions were part of a broader initiative to streamline government operations and improve efficiency.
“The aim is to reduce administrative inflation, curb bureaucracy, and enhance institutional performance,” Mujahid said in an interview with the Taliban-run national television network. He added that the cuts extend to military bodies under Taliban control and claimed that the overall reductions were “minimal.”
However, a document obtained by Amu TV and reviewed by reporters indicates a substantial reduction in positions within the Ministry of Education. According to the document, the number of official posts within the ministry has been reduced from 389,200 to 299,684 for the Afghan calendar year 1404 (2025) — a loss of nearly 90,000 positions.
The document cites multiple reasons for the move, including aligning the ministry’s staffing structure with its actual operational capacity, addressing payroll shortfalls, reducing expenditures, and focusing resources on the ministry’s “core priorities.”
The Taliban’s Ministry of Education has reportedly argued that most of the eliminated positions were either unfilled or located in areas deemed non-essential. Of 82,045 vacant posts listed in the document, 75,799 were designated as eligible for elimination.
The staffing cuts come amid broader challenges facing Afghanistan’s education system, which has been hampered by funding constraints, teacher shortages, and restrictions on girls’ education under Taliban rule. The ministry’s internal restructuring appears to be a cost-saving measure, though critics warn it may further erode service delivery in an already strained public sector.
Taliban have not released a public version of the document or provided detailed data on how the cuts will affect provincial staffing, school operations, or educational access across the country.
