The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it has distributed educational materials to nearly four million children across Afghanistan and helped rebuild 232 schools nationwide, describing the effort as part of broader attempts to preserve basic access to education amid the country’s ongoing education crisis.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, shared images on X on Wednesday, 16 Sawr, showing children receiving educational packages. He said the support and school reconstruction projects are helping create safer and more supportive learning environments for children.
UNICEF also emphasized that every child deserves a safe place to learn and the tools needed to build a better future.
The announcement comes as international organizations continue efforts to support Afghanistan’s education infrastructure while Taliban restrictions on girls’ education beyond sixth grade remain in place, leaving millions of girls excluded from formal schooling.
Alongside concerns over access, debate has also intensified regarding curriculum changes and the ideological direction of Afghanistan’s education system.
Critics argue that while humanitarian educational assistance remains essential, rebuilding schools and distributing learning materials alone cannot resolve the deeper structural crisis facing education in Afghanistan.
They say the crisis is driven not only by shortages of resources and infrastructure, but also by systemic exclusion and restrictions affecting a significant portion of students—particularly girls.
In this context, many observers contend that educational reconstruction can only achieve lasting meaning if the right to education is guaranteed equally and without gender-based discrimination.
