Taliban have dismissed at least 23 faculty and staff members from Kabul Polytechnic University in recent days, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The dismissals include 10 professors and 13 administrative employees, several of whom were informed without prior explanation, sources told Amu TV.
The Taliban-appointed head of the university has reportedly warned remaining faculty that academic promotions will now be contingent on “production of goods,” though the directive’s specifics remain unclear.
The Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education has yet to publicly comment on the firings.
The latest dismissals follow an earlier round of terminations in May, when dozens of male and female staff at Kabul Polytechnic were removed from their posts. At the time, Taliban officials cited a national order to reduce staffing levels across government-run institutions.
A source familiar with that process said the move was carried out under a broader directive approved by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, which called for a 20 percent reduction in public sector employment, including the education system and the Taliban’s own security forces.
The cuts are not limited to Kabul. In mid-May, more than 200 university employees were dismissed from public institutions in the southeastern provinces of Khost and Paktia, according to academic and administrative sources.
At Sheikh Zayed University in Khost, 120 faculty and staff members were removed in a single day, a source at the institution said. Most held advanced degrees and had previously worked under the former government.
In neighboring Paktia, three sources confirmed that 90 employees at the province’s public university — including instructors, clerical workers, and hospital staff — were also let go.
The wave of dismissals has raised concerns among Afghan academics about the future of higher education under Taliban rule. Critics say the cuts disproportionately affect those with professional qualifications and ties to the previous government, deepening a brain drain already accelerated by mass emigration since 2021.
