IEA officials urge students to stay in Afghanistan

KABUL (Agencies): Abdul Baqi Haqqani, the acting director of the National Examination Authority, said that the Islamic Emirate supports the youth and wants to provide them with better educational opportunities. Haqqani stated this at a ceremony to honor the top scorers in this year’s university entrance exams and graduates of madrassas. “Islamic Emirate is at your service, it tries to create facilities and provide a good education environment. Experience shows that in such situations people call and invite [students] from outside. Try not to accept without consulting with the Islamic Emirate,” Haqqani said. A number of other officials reiterated the IEA’s commitment to support both religious and modern studies. “We assure [the people] that the Islamic Emirate will support the students both in the religious sciences and in the modern sciences and will provide job opportunities,” Mohammad Nabi Omari, Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs, said. Deputy Minister of Information and Culture for Youth Affairs Mohammad Yonus Rashid said the youth are an important section of society and asked them to work for the unity and integrity of the country through science and knowledge. “Afghanistan will be built by the youth,” Rashid said. Mohammad Faqir, deputy minister of the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said: “The responsibility of scholars and university professors is to bridge the gap between the Islamic Emirate and the people.” Meanwhile, top Kankor students asked the Islamic Emirate to provide them with the opportunity to study abroad. Mahmood, who scored the highest marks in Kankor, said: “Current conditions are such that education is not available for everyone. I hope that conditions will be provided as soon as possible so that we can all study together and contribute to the progress of the country.” Abbas, who came second in the exam, said: “My demand from the Islamic Emirate is to provide us with the opportunity to study in better countries, so that we can study with better facilities and quality, and when we return to our country, we will serve the society and fulfill the aspirations of the nation.”