240 private schools closed in 2 years

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Kabul Private Schools Association says about 240 of the 1,300 private schools in Kabul have been closed during the past two years due to economic problems.
Islamuddin Yarmal, the association head, told Pajhwok that there were a total of 1300 private schools operating in Kabul two years ago, but 230 to 250 of them had to be closed due to financial crisis.
He said some of these schools had been closed due to the coronavirus and others due to political developments.
He said: “The closure of a primary school renders up to 15 teachers unemployed, a middle school 20 teachers and when a high school is closed, it renders 25 teachers unemployed,” he said, putting the number of teachers becoming unemployed due to the closure of the private schools at more than 4,600.
Yarmal added: “The economic problems of parents have increased so much that now they want to stop sending their children to schools from the first to the sixth grade.”
He called on international organizations to support private schools in order to prevent more schools from being closed in the country.
A private school principal in Kabul, Shah Mahmood Ahmadi, told Pajhwok that the number of students in many private schools had decreased by 20 to 40 percent due to the deteriorated economic situation of the families.
He said private schools had reduced fees, but still some families could not afford to send their children to these schools.
Mohammad Israr, a student of Ettimad private School in Kabul, told Pajhwok that the number of students in their school was less this year compared to the previous years, but he did not know the reason.
The Ministry of Education did not respond to Pajhwok’s request for comments.
However, Mullah Abdul Wasi Khadim, the director of the Administrative Affairs of the Office of the Prime Minister, met with the president and members of the Private School Association on March 6 this year.
The meeting was attended by private schools association president Mohammad Azim Maidanwal and some members.
They demanded reforms in the regulation of private schools, making the license permanent, eliminating multiple licenses, canceling the bank guarantee and lowering the tax.
For his part, Mullah Khadim assured that the Islamic Emirate would provide facilities to private schools within available resources s and share their problems with relevant institutions.
Recently, Union of Private Universities officials told Pajhwok that many private universities would be closed if their economic problems remained unaddressed.