New York, Jun 4: Poor security situation, grinding poverty, discrimination against girls and continuing conflict in Afghanistan have led to a surge in the number of out-of-school children for the first time since 2002, according to a report by the United Nation’s Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The report found that some 3.7 million children, that represents almost half of all children between 7 and 17 years of age were missing out on school, with girls accounting for 60 per cent of that number, reflecting the frequent gender-based discrimination in the country.
In some provinces, including Kandahar, Helmand, Wardak, Paktika, Zabul and Uruzgan, the figure for out-of-school girls rose to as high as 85 per cent.
