57 days after the start of the new school year (1400), the Ministry of Education is facing criticism for not solving the problem of a shortage of textbooks and teachers in schools.

Students at one of Herat’s schools say the shortage of teachers and textbooks causes many challenges.

These students complained that they are worried about their future, as the lack of textbooks and teachers in schools renders the act of getting an education meaningless.

"We cannot study without books, they are not available to us," said Mirwais, a student in Herat.

"I personally do not have textbooks. I cannot take notes, I cannot study. There are some challenges that stop us from learning," said Reja Mahmoodi, another student in Herat.

A small number of teachers in Herat schools consider the shortage of textbooks and teachers distressing.

"The lack of textbooks in the classrooms has left students with confusion and has bewildered them," said Abdul Qadir Movahed, a teacher in Herat.

Some members of Parliament, who criticize the government for not providing enough textbooks or hiring enough teachers in schools, say the dimished focus on the education system in the country is a betrayal by the government.

Ghazni MP Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi said: "Afghanistan has a sick educational system that needs to be treated as soon as possible. This treatment may require serious actions by the government."

The Ministry of Education says it is determined to solve all of these problems very soon.

Najiba Arian, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, said: "To address the shortage of teachers, we have plans to start the process of recruiting temporary, contract-based teachers, a series of paperwork processes are in motion. Once all these processes are completed, we will start recruiting new teachers. Besides this, more than 85% of the books that were planned to be printed in the current year are printed now. Once the printing process is wholly completed, we will start the process of carrying and distributing them to all provinces.

lack of textbooks, teachers, buildings, and security for the students has been a longstanding challenge to the education sector in Afghanistan.

The people of Afghanistan blame the government authorities for not paying significant attention to the education system and they say that although millions of dollars have been contributed to the education sector over the last two decades, problems were not solved and have increased.