President Ashraf Ghani at an event on Tuesday said that Afghanistan’s education system is now in jeopardy as the country’s enemies are targeting students and destroying infrastructure.

He indirectly referred to the recent car bomb attack in Logar province that killed at least 26 people, most of whom were students.

He inaugurated buildings for 59 schools in 22 provinces during the event and said the education sector is the key to development in the country.

“Today, our education is faced with a cruel attack. Today our student, who should be planning his future with a calm mind, is assassinated,” Ghani said.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that the country’s schools are accommodating students three times beyond capacity.

“Today, in our schools, there are three times more girls and boys than their capacity,” said Saleh, who expressed hopes that the quest for education among Afghan children and youth will continue.

The acting minister of education, Rangina Hamidi, said that her ministry has facilitated education with minimal facilities.

“Education is the backbone for Afghanistan, and I assure you that we will be able to have a brighter future for Afghanistan if this sector improves,” Hamidi said.

This comes amid complaints about a lack of school buildings and schoolteachers in some provinces, including Kabul.

The Ministry of Education on April 10 said there is a need for at least 50,000 new teachers for the country’s schools, as the current number of instructors is not sufficient.

Afghanistan’s schools have at least 220,000 teachers for 9.7 million students across the country.

Along with the lack of school buildings, textbooks and other educational resources, the lack of teachers is said to be one of the major challenges facing the education sector in the country.