Over 30% of University Professors have left Afghanistan: Abbas Basir
Abbas Basir, the former Minister of Higher Education of Afghanistan, recently stated that after the rise of the Taliban administration, more than 30% of university professors, most of whom were educated at the doctoral and master’s level in countries around the world, have left Afghanistan.
Mr Basir, in an interview with Independent Persian, mentioned that the actions of the Taliban administration in the field of higher education in Afghanistan, including the dismissal of educated professors and changing the educational content, are a “dangerous trend” with “dire consequences.”
According to him, Afghan universities, with the advent of the Taliban, have transformed from places expected to produce “science and knowledge” into spaces limited to “literacy education.”
The Independent also reported, citing Abbas Basir that “the Taliban have imprisoned science and thought, and universities are becoming religious schools.”
The Islamization of texts and educational content, according to Mr. Basir, “is mostly derived from the usual practices in Pakistani religious schools.”
Abbas Basir was the last Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan who handed over the ministry to Abdul Baqi Haqqani, a senior member of the Taliban, on August 28, 2021.
Independent, citing this former minister, wrote: Changes in the leadership of educational institutions and the dismissal of educated and experienced individuals from the ministry’s structure have caused the collapse of the educational system in Afghanistan.
Mr. Basir has warned of consequences he describes as “dire,” stating that “more than 30% of university professors, most of whom were educated at doctoral and master’s levels in countries around the world, have left Afghanistan.”
According to him, the consequences of banning women’s education, changing educational content, and the collapse of the educational system may not be seen in the short term but will be understood over the long term and after five or ten years, with negative effects lasting at least 50 years.
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