AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Students say that universities in the country are gradually shifting away from their academic character and turning into institutions for promoting what they describe as ideological or extremist interpretations.
The tightening of the Taliban’s policy of religious standardization has placed students from religious minorities—particularly Twelver Shiites—under significant pressure. In the latest development, students at Bamiyan University report that dozens of their peers have left their studies over the past year.
A student from Bamiyan University told media that regulations issued by the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education have undermined the academic environment. According to him, the discouragement of modern sciences, the presence of lecturers with hardline views, and the requirement to sign written pledges to adhere to Hanafi jurisprudence are among the main reasons students are abandoning their studies.
These pledges, excerpts of which have circulated in the media, reportedly state that, since the people of Afghanistan are followers of Sunni Islam and the Hanafi school of thought, students also commit to adopting the same school in order to preserve unity and cohesion.
Critics argue that this clause effectively requires Shia and other non-Hanafi students to renounce their own religious beliefs and formally declare adherence to the Hanafi school, which they describe as a violation of internationally recognized religious freedom protections.
According to reports, the issue has also been raised with the Shia Ulema Council of Afghanistan. A member of the council said some students have attempted to respond by adding notes at the end of the pledge indicating adherence to Ja’fari jurisprudence, but described this as a symbolic gesture that does not address the core issue of imposed curricula. The council says it has held discussions with Taliban authorities, though no substantive policy changes have been observed so far.
Many students from Bamiyan who had hoped to transfer to private universities in Kabul in search of a more open academic environment now face renewed disappointment, as documents from private institutions such as “Mihan University” indicate that the Ministry of Higher Education is enforcing similar policies across non-governmental universities as well.
Bamiyan, long regarded as a cultural and educational hub in Afghanistan, is increasingly seen by students and observers as being reshaped under Taliban religious policies, leaving many young people facing a difficult choice between enforced conformity and leaving higher education altogether.
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