Afghanistan's Taliban say to open schools

Kabul, Jan 21: Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents say they are going to spend 1 million dollars on opening schools in areas they control to counter the propaganda of the West and the Western-backed government.

The Taliban banned girls from education during their rule, and have attacked hundreds of schools and killed some teachers and pupils in recent years as part of their war against the government and its Western backers.

''The aims are to reopen schools so children who are deprived can benefit and secondly, to counter the propaganda of the West and its puppets against Islam, jihad and the Taliban,'' a Taliban spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutmaen, said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The Taliban refer to the government of President Hamid Karzai as puppets.

''Students will be taught subjects that are in line with Islamic teaching and jihad,'' he said late yesterday.

The schools will be opened from March in 14 districts, he said. It was not clear if they would be open to boys and girls, or just boys.

Progress has been made in education since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 and up to six million Afghan children are back in class although many who should be going are not.

About half of all Afghan girls of primary school age are not going to classes, partly because parents fear for their safety, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said last year.

Hundreds of schools, particularly in the volatile south and east, have closed, either because they were attacked or because teachers fear attacks.

Analysts say the Taliban target schools to convince Afghans the government can't protect them and can't control the country. In many areas, schools are the only symbol of government authority.

The government and UNICEF have set up a special task force to fight the problem, focusing on better surveillance, special monitoring teams and encouraging communities and parents to pass on information and help reopen damaged or destroyed schools.

The Taliban operate across large parts of the Afghan south and east but they have been unable to hold or administer any significant territory if challenged by NATO and US forces.

REUTERS

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