Education

Afghanistan’s schools are supposed to be sanctuaries of learning — places where young minds grow and futures are built. Yet in many governmental schools across the country, they have become something far different: overcrowded warehouses where teachers rarely teach, students rarely learn, and corruption runs unchecked. For decades, this system has persisted, forcing families to seek private tutoring at great expense, while the public education system crumbles.

This is not speculation — it is the daily reality for millions of Afghan students.

What does schooling look like across three generations of an Afghan family? From Soviet-era fines for skipping class, to lessons held in animal stalls, to today’s growing private school sector — this is a look at how education in Afghanistan has changed across three generations.