Afghan people move toward the Kabul airport on August 16, 2021. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

“All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” a Taliban statement said ahead of classes resuming Saturday.

Secondary schools, with students typically between the ages of 13 and 18, are often segregated by sex in Afghanistan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have faced repeated closures and have been shut since the Taliban seized power.

Afghanistan currently has a serious shortage of teachers because most of them are female and are not allowed to go to school by the Taliban government, according to an education official.

Earlier, UNESCO warned that Afghanistan risks backsliding on nearly two decades of schooling gains for children, especially girls.