Millions of Afghan children denied education

(24 Mar 2017) Nearly a third of all children in war-torn Afghanistan are unable to attend school, leaving them at increased risk of child labour, recruitment by armed groups, early marriage and other forms of exploitation, an aid group said on Thursday.\r\nSave the Children said more than 400,000 Afghan children are expected to drop out of school this year due to growing instability and the forcible return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, adding to the 3.7 million already out of school.\r\nMore than 600,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in 2016 and around one million more are expected in 2017 after the tightening of regulations by authorities there.\r\nSave the Children said that over half of all returnee children do not attend school, often working on the streets because their parents cannot find jobs. \r\n\"My father sells ice-cream and my brother sells plastic bags, so we only earn a little bit of money to eat,\" Jahangeer, an 11-year-old who returned with his family six months ago, told The Associated Press. \r\n\"What can I do? I can\'t go to school.\"\r\nThe boy, who like many Afghans has just one name, pushes an ice-cream cart alongside his father in Kabul.\r\n As the current school year begins, he says he wishes he could attend classes.\r\nAfghanistan has been mired in a growing economic crisis as the Taliban have expanded their reach. \r\nEconomic aid has meanwhile dwindled alongside the Western military drawdown in recent years.\r\nUntil both those situations change, millions of children in Afghanistan are set to lose out on an proper education.\r\n\r\n\r\nYou can license this story through AP Archive: \r\nFind out more about AP Archive: