AFGHANISTAN: 1,100 Afghan children a day ‘to out of school’

Hundreds of thousands of Afghan children are expected to drop out of school this year, leaving them exposed to significant risks, an international aid group has warned. In a report published on Thursday, Save the Children said that more than 400,000 children in Afghanistan, more than 1,100 a day, might not attend classes, citing a […]

Hundreds of thousands of Afghan children are expected to drop out of school this year, leaving them exposed to significant risks, an international aid group has warned.
In a report published on Thursday, Save the Children said that more than 400,000 children in Afghanistan, more than 1,100 a day, might not attend classes, citing a growing instability in the country and a spike in forced returns from Pakistan.
The projection comes on the first day of the Afghan new school year, when almost a third of all children across the country – 3.7 million – are unable to go to school, leaving them at increased risk of child labour, recruitment by armed groups, trafficking, early marriage and other forms of exploitation.
“Today should be a happy day in Afghanistan as children go back to class for the first time after a long winter. Instead it is a day cloaked in tragedy for the millions who can’t access education and are struggling to survive,” Ana Locsin, the charity’s Afghanistan director, said in a statement.