The Ministry of Education (MoE) announced more than 7,000 vacancies for teachers and said the appointments will be made based on merit.  

According to the MoE, more than 2,000 of the vacancies are allotted for female teachers. 

A spokesman for the MoE, Aziz Ahmad Riyan, said that more than 3,000 vacancies for teachers are unoccupied in Kabul.  

 A shortage of teachers and a lack of textbooks are the main challenges.

“We have made a program that will create 7,000 vacancies for teachers and administrative employees in a free competition,” said Mawlawi Abdul Khaliq Sadeq, deputy Minister of Education.  

Officials within the MoE expressed frustration, saying that there have been many ghost teachers in the past and that the former government’s officials embezzled. 

“We have examples of individuals in the past in the MoE who appointed their relatives to the MoE,” said Ahmad Jan Ahmadi, head of the Administrative Office of the President. 

Based on available numbers, more than 274,023 teachers are currently working under the MoE across the country. However, over 4,800 teachers need to be hired to meet the demands of the schools.