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Nearly half of Afghan children out of school: UN
KABUL, June 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Nearly half of Afghanistan’s children are
not attending school because of worsening security, poverty and sex
discrimination, according to a new UN report Sunday.
The number of children deprived of schooling is at its highest rate since
2002 — the year after the US-led ouster of the repressive Taliban regime,
which had banned girls from the classroom.
Girls remain more likely to miss out on a formal education, making up 60
percent of the 3.7 million children aged between seven and 17 not at school.
The figure rose as high as 85 percent in some of the worst-affected
provinces, reflecting pervasive gender-based discrimination in parts of the
deeply conservative Muslim country.
Child marriages and a shortage of female teachers were additional factors
keeping girls away from the classroom.
The report by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also estimated that
up to 300,000 children are at risk of dropping out before the end of the
year.
Those children most at risk often live in rural areas and face
displacement, insecurity and a lack of schooling facilities.
“Business as usual is not an option for Afghanistan if we are to fulfil the
right to education for every child,” UNICEF’s Afghanistan representative
Adele Khodr said.
“When children are not in school, they are at an increased danger of abuse,
exploitation and recruitment.”
While the numbers are worrying, the study also noted some progress.
It said school dropout rates are low in comparison to neighbouring
countries such as Pakistan and Nepal, with some 85 per cent of Afghan boys
and girls who start primary school going on to complete the last grade.
“Now is the time for a renewed commitment to provide girls and boys with
the relevant learning opportunities they need to progress in life and to play
a positive role in society,” Khodr said.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1557 hrs