Jawzjan officials said on Wednesday that Daesh has threatened to adopt the so-called Islamic caliphate’s curriculum in schools in Darzab district – in the southwest of the province in northern Afghanistan.
According to them, the group burnt down a girls school and destroyed 11 other schools in Darzab district. The group also said it will change the curriculum after the summer vacation, local officials said.
Acting district governor for Darzab, Baz Mohammad Dawar, confirmed that Daesh not only sent out an announcement to schools in areas under their control, but said they have sent the announcement to all schools in the district.
“After the announcement, they said that the new curriculum of Daesh will be distributed and then it will be taught in schools in Darzab district,” he said.
The group has repeatedly announced their decision at 12 schools under their direct control, he said.
However, he said the group has not started distributing books to schools.
Meanwhile, Sayed Murad, a schoolteacher in Darzab, said the group called people to a meeting two weeks ago and told them that the books related to the curriculum of the so-called Islamic caliphate will be distributed to them in the near future.
“They (Daesh) sent out a number of announcements where they said that schools (in Darzab) must be closed. They claimed that they will replace the curriculum with an Islamic (curriculum),” he said.
According to local officials, the group has also warned people not to send their daughters to schools.
“According to our information they (Daesh) have burnt the girls central school (in Darzab). They have taken desks and chairs from schools and have destroyed dozens of other schools. I don’t think that a terrorist group would have an educational plan,” said Abdul Rahman Mahmoudi, deputy governor of Jawzjan.
“When they (Daesh) entered Darzab girls school, they destroyed the biology laboratory and then they burnt the school building,” said Abdulhai, the provincial director of education.
Darzab district has 47 schools with more than 17,000 students – 44 percent of them are girls.
Daesh recently became active in Darzab and Qosh Tepa districts in Jawzjan.
Darzab district shares a border with Sar-e-Pul and Faryab provinces in the country’s north.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education admits that militant groups are a threat to education facilities in areas out of government’s control.
The ministry says it continues its efforts to address the problem but says that at least 80 schools were reopened in similar areas last year.
“Unfortunately, some incidents happen against education in areas which are not under the control of Afghan government,” said Mujib Mehrdad, spokesman for Ministry of Education.
Security officials said the fight against Daesh is in their top priority.
“Our operational activities are planned effectively against them (Daesh) whether it is in Nangarhar, Kunar or Nuristan or Darzab (district) in Jawzjan province,” said Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for the defense ministry.