KABUL: Officials from Afghanistan’s, Uruzgan provincial education department said on Sunday that because of the lack of school buildings and a shortage of teachers, 80,000 children are currently unable to attend schools.
According to the officials, about 20,000 children were enrolled in public schools this year, but there is no capacity to accommodate more students.
Currently, 258 schools are functioning in the center and districts of the province, with about 100,000 students receiving education.
The head of the education department in Uruzgan, Shamsullah Kamran, said that right now 100,000 children are receiving formal education, while there are about 80,000 more children seeking education.
Some teachers also said that due to the lack of school buildings and teachers, students from three different levels are being taught in one classroom.
They added that as the number of students in schools has increased, they are unable to teach all of them.
Ahmad Shah, a teacher, told the media that in each class there are about eighty to a hundred students.
Another teacher, Abdul Naafi, said they are facing shortage of teachers, lack of basic facilities, and there are no books for the students.
Aid organizations, Afghan interim govt urged to build more schools
Families whose children have not been enrolled in schools yet, have voiced concerns and are asking the interim government and international aid organizations to build more schools to provide education for their children.
Abdul Hanan, a resident of Uruzgan, expressed his worry about the situation. He added if his son had been enrolled in school this year, he would soon drop out.
Abdul Wali, another resident of the province said most of the people who want to go to school find no place in classrooms.
According to the information from the Uruzgan department of education, 34 schools that were destroyed, due to conflicts have been rebuilt in the past year, and 10 new schools have been constructed.
