David S. Sedney, acting director of the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), said in an interview with TOLOnews that the university will reopen in the new solar year.
 
This comes after the university closed following the deadly attack on the facility in August – an attack that left at least 14 people dead.
 
“We currently are scheduled to reopen on March 25 following the Nowruz holiday and by that time we will be completely open. In the two and half months before that we will be increasing our activities gradually,” he said.
 
Sedney says strict security measures have been taken to make sure students and teachers will be safe.
 
According to Sedney, nearly 650 students will be trained by 75 lecturers.
 
Sedney said AUAF is an Afghan institution and added their long-term purpose is to have 5,000 students in the next 10 years.
 
“We are an Afghan institution; we are an Afghan non-profit institution. We operate under the rules and regulations of the Afghan government and our education is supervised by the ministry of higher education,” he added.
 
In addition to the attack, two of the university’s lecturers were kidnapped last year. They are both still being held hostage by the Taliban.
 
Afghan people have also meanwhile urged government to maintain security at academic institutions.
 
“Government and security forces should put strict security measures into practice to maintain security of the university. We cannot lose our educated youths once again,” said Mohammad Mazari Sultanzada, a civil society activist.