Islamabad, 15 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Thursday expressed deep concerns about the ongoing educational crisis in Afghanistan, where a ban on girls' secondary education persists for the third year.

"Today Afghanistan is the only country in the world to prohibit access to education for girls and women over the age of 12. We should all be concerned about this situation," UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

According to new UNESCO data, 1.4 million Afghan girls have been deliberately deprived from secondary and higher education in the country. The data shows an increase of 300,000 since the previous count carried out by UNESCO in April 2023.

"There can be no negotiation or compromise on the right to education. The international community must remain fully engaged in order to obtain the unconditional reopening of schools and universities to Afghan girls and women,” Azoulay further said.

For three years, UNESCO has been working to implement alternative education programmes, including community-based literacy initiatives and distance learning through radio and television, the UN official added. However, the organization says that these measures are no substitute for formal classroom education.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the hardline Taliban has banned girls and women from studying beyond primary school. However, in some parts of the country, women and girls still attend religious schools, as well as midwifery and nursing schools.

The Taliban government is not recognized internationally.