Girls' Education Challenged by Shortage of Female Teachers

The lack of female teachers is preventing families from sending their daughters to school, local education officials said today.

Head of Takhar province's education department Abdul Ghafar Saripuli said that the dearth of female teachers, educational books, and proper school buildings are all major problems for the province's education sector - aside from the now widely-reported poisonings.

"The problem we have in the districts is the lack of female teachers. Because of social and cultural mores, parents prevent their daughters from attending school because male teachers are teaching the classes," Saripuli told TOLOnews.

Sar-e Pol Provincial Governor Abdul Jabar Haqbin said that destruction of school buildings and equipments during the recent flash floods have prevented more than 5,000 students from continuing their school education.

"We have tried to clean up the schools damaged by floods, but the disaster is out of our capacity to handle. We have requested help from international organisations in this regard in order for the students to resume studies," he said.