Taliban suspends operations at seven private universities

The Afghan Ministry of Higher Education under the Taliban government has suspended the activities of seven private universities for a year and revoked the licenses of two others, Ariana News reported.

The decision was made based on the results of inspections and evaluations conducted at higher education institutions during the spring semester. The universities had previously been given several warnings and recommendations to eliminate shortcomings. Despite this, serious violations were found in nine private universities.

The seven universities that have been suspended for a year are:

* Barlos in Juzjan province;

* Rahi Saadat and Turkiston in Balkh province;

* Azhar and Barna in Badakhshan province;

* Rashad in Faryab province;

* Payam universities in Kabul.

In addition, the licenses of Kohanduz in Kunduz province and Khanayi Danesh in Takhar province have been revoked.

The Ministry of Higher Education listed several key factors among the violations. In particular, it noted the lack of proper academic and administrative leadership at universities. It also found that there were “fake students” who, although they were listed on the documents as attending classes and were included in the schedule, did not actually attend classes at all.

During the inspections, cases of failure to maintain attendance records in the first 10 weeks of the semester, cases of students who had been expelled from studies taking final exams, and cases of illegal permission to transfer to higher courses were observed. The ministry also reported that some universities lacked the necessary laboratories, equipment and materials for practical training, and that they did not follow the curriculum approved by the ministry.

Cases of falsification of attendance were identified at two universities whose licenses were revoked. According to them, some students who did not attend classes at all during the semester were recorded as attending classes.