17,000 complete basic literacy course in Balkh

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): As many as 17,000 people were equipped with basic literacy in northern Balkh province last year, local authorities said on Friday.

Speaking at a gathering in Mazar-i-Sharif, literacy project head Mohammad Hashim Balkhi said they were conducting literacy courses in the provincial capital and 14 districts of Balkh.

He said they accorded priority to enrolling adults in government-funded literacy programmes, he said, adding that each course had nine-month duration. Currently, 12,620 people are attending such courses across the province.

Education Director Azizullah Aziz told Pajhwok Afghan News 60 percent of Balkh residents were literate. He said the province still lacked basic education facilities, including a shortage of teachers and lack of proper school buildings.

At least 40 percent of the 580 schools in Balkh are without buildings, according to the director, who complained many institutes did not have the required number of classrooms.

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