Date Announced for Nationwide Kankor Exam; No News on Girls' Participation

Abdul Baqi Haqani, head of the Taliban's National Examination Authority, announced the date for this national exam in Afghanistan at a press conference in Kabul today, Thursday (May 23).

According to him, the Kankor exam will be held in five stages this year.

The first stage will be held on June 6, 7 and 8 in 16 provinces, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, Ghazni, Paktika, Paktia, Kunar, Zabul, Bamyan, Samangan, Badghis, Herat, Ghor and Nuristan.

The second stage will be held in Kabul on June 21 and 22.

The third stage will be held on July 27, 28 and 29 in 14 provinces, Takhar, Kunduz, Balkh, Jawzjan, Sar-e Pol, Faryab, Uruzgan, Baghlan and Daikundi, as well as Faizabad and the districts of Baharak, Khawahan, Darwaz and Shaghnan.

The fourth stage will be held on July 4, 5 and 6 in 7 provinces, Nangarhar, Laghman, Khost, Kandahar, Helmand, Farah and Nimroz.

In the final stage, on July 12, a miscellaneous exam will be held in Kabul for those outside the country, those who were absent from the provinces, those who took a special exam, and graduates of religious schools.

Girls are barred from taking the exam.

This comes after the Taliban, for the first time in two decades, did not allow girls to take the Kankor exam last year.

The absence of girls from the Kankor exam is a major blow to education and the future of Afghan women. It severely limits girls' educational and employment opportunities and excludes them from participating in society.