Over 50 percent of private education centers have been closed within the past three months across the country, the Union of Private Education Centers said on Sunday.   

The union said the deteriorated economic status of families is the main reason for the closure of these educational centers.  

“With changes happening in Afghanistan, many educational facilities--40 to 50 percent--stopped their activities. The reason for that was the small number of students in the educational centers,” said Sanjar Khalid, head of the union.  

Some students said that the long time period has affected their morale for continuing education.  

“We are still hopeful to study to become a person who can serve their country,” said Shabana Habib Yar, a student.  

“We lost the motivation for the lessons because it is still unclear whether we will go to school next year or not," said Najia Sarwary, a student.  

The head of one of the private education centers in western Kabul, Mohammad Arif Jamal, said that the number of students has dropped 60 percent during the past three months compared to previous months.  

“After the fall of the government and the Islamic Emirate’s coming to power, the number of students dropped, particularly the female students,” he said.  

Last year, 200,000 students from 34 provinces attended the university entrance exams. When the Islamic Emirate came to power, girls were banned from attending grades 7-12 in many provinces across the country.