Over the last quarter, the Taliban have built 12 religious — often jihadist — schools across six provinces, according to data released by the Ministry of Education under their administration. Critics argue the schools represent a significant push toward ideological indoctrination of young people in the country.
Ministry figures show that construction took place in April, May, and June, with three schools completed in April, nine in May and one in early June, located in Ghazni, Paktia, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Faryab and Panjshir. Among these, one madrasa in Kandahar’s Daman district cost approximately $17,500 to build, while another in Argun district, Paktika, had a reported investment of over $11,500.
Human rights activists have voiced their concern. Abdul Ahad Farzam, an advocate for education rights, warned that “thousands of young men and women” who graduate from these institutions are “equipped with extremist ideology but without the necessary skills for the job market or contributing to national development.”
The surge in these schools coincides with steep restrictions on girls’ education. Secondary schooling for girls beyond grade six remains banned, and universities remain closed to them. Sadaf, a student in Kabul, said: “The gates of school are closed to us. I don’t understand our crime—we see boys and girls studying together in other countries, but in Afghanistan, girls from seventh grade onward are deprived of education.”
In a troubling escalation, several new madrasas are being constructed within military compounds in Badakhshan’s Kuran and Manjan districts. At the same time, the Taliban’s Higher Education Ministry has awarded bachelor’s and master’s diplomas to approximately 2,500 graduates of religious seminaries, including instructors at the Darul Uloom Haqqani.
Analysts caution that while these schools may fill gaps left by a faltering public education system, they also risk deepening extremist ideology at the expense of broader learning and economic opportunity. With girls still barred from education and curricula focused on religious instruction, Afghanistan’s youth may face mounting obstacles to participation in the workforce and broader society.
