KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban-run National Examination Authority announced Sunday that the country’s 1404 Kankor university entrance exams will begin next month — once again excluding women and girls from participation for a fourth consecutive year.
The authority said the exams will be conducted in five phases from May 25 to July 10. In the first phase, starting May 25, the exams will be held in Maidan Wardak, Parwan, Panjshir, Paktika, Ghor, Daikundi, Logar, Kapisa, Ghazni, Baghlan, and Bamiyan provinces. Taliban officials stated they plan to enroll over 112,000 students in higher and semi-higher education institutions this year.
However, for the fourth consecutive year, the Taliban have excluded women and girls from sitting for the national entrance exams, continuing their broader policy of denying female students access to secondary and higher education. This year’s Kankor, like last year’s, will proceed only with male candidates.
The National Examination Authority made no mention of the future prospects for girls graduating from grade 12, many of whom remain in limbo without the ability to pursue higher education.
Abdul Baqi Haqqani, head of the Taliban-run examination body, said the exams will be offered in Pashto, Dari, Arabic, and English, and that all test materials have been prepared according to the current Taliban-controlled Ministry of Education curriculum.
The Taliban’s decision to bar girls from education has been widely condemned by the United Nations and human rights groups, who warn that Afghanistan is facing a “lost generation” of women. International reports have linked the education bans to rising rates of depression, early marriage, suicide, and economic hardship among Afghan women and girls.
Despite mounting international pressure, Taliban have maintained that their policies are in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.
