KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Education’s proposed plan to teach primary education at mosques has stirred heated debate in the social media.
Some social media users have ridiculed it, and some have warned of the dire consequences of such a decision. Ramin Kamangar, an education activist, wrote on Twitter that the consequences of such an act “are dangerous given the extent to which the mosques are politicized today.” A number of other social media activists have written that the Ministry of Education alone does not have the authority to make such a decision.
Fereshta Karim, an activist in the field of education, said that the first three years are considered as the foundation of the education for a child, and during these three years, students learn to read and write. According to her, in schools, children are not taught secular matters, but in their mosques they will be exposed to religious extremism. She considered the decision as a politically motivated move with a populist touch to it.
Ahmad Saeedi, a political analyst, wrote on his Facebook page that the head of the Ministry of Education could not speak Persian and could not read verses and hadiths, but that she has made such a big decision about the fate of Afghan children. He feared this move would lead to scenario of Pakistani religious schools repeated in Afghanistan with mass production of suicide bombers.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has clarified that this proposed plan is for areas where there are no schools available.
ENDS
