550 schools stay closed across the country

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Acting Minister of Education Mohammad Asif Nang on Wednesday said that 1,000 schools banned by militants in restive areas of different provinces had been reopened.

Another 550 schools still remained closed in the militancy-hit areas, he said at the opening ceremony for a professional and technical studies complex in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.

Most of the closed schools are situated in 70 insecure districts, depriving 25,000 students of getting education.  But reliable sources revealed that a total of 1,200 schools remained closed across the country.

For his part, Nang said Kandahar was among the provinces where the number of closed schools was high. All of the shut schools are located in Pashtun-dominated localities, he explained.

Three years back, he recalled, the number of closed schools stood at more than 1,650. The conflict has killed education officials and students.

Over 4,000 officials, including teachers, have been killed as result of explosions, suicide attacks and bombardment in the past seven years, the acting minister said..  

nh/mud

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