Afghanistan, Sept. 6 -- The expansion of religious schools (Madrassas) under current rule could permanently reshape Afghanistan's social fabric and deepen the country's education crisis, Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has warned in a new report.
Bennett said that while religious education has long been part of Afghanistan's education system, the rapid expansion of madrassas is raising concerns because they are increasingly replacing rather than complementing formal education.
According to Bennett's report, the number of registered religious schools increased from about 5,000 before the Taliban returned to power to more than 23,000 by September 2025.
The report describes the expansion as part of...