A new report by the Special Inspector General For Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has found that the Taliban are indirectly benefiting from the U.S.-funded assistance programs in the education sector.
Soon after overtaking power, the Taliban banned girls’ education beyond sixth grade and later closed universities to women. According to the UN’s Children Fund (UNICEF), the majority of the 1.1 million secondary school girls—about 850,000—are out of school, most of whom are grappling with severe physical and mental health toll as a result of the ban. Since August, most public universities have been closed, and private university enrollments have declined by 40%, according to a report by Afghanistan Education Cluster. The bans have also caused significant female staffing shortages and hindered the overall quality of education in Afghanistan as the Taliban continue to convert secular curricula and schools into religious ones such as madrassas and other networks.
The group has defied international calls for lifting the bans by imposing further restrictions excluding women and girls from employment and public spaces like parks, gyms, and public baths. Rights groups say the Taliban are committing the crime against humanity of gender persecution against women and girls and advocate for recognizing the regime’s gender apartheid.
In response to the Taliban ban on girls’ education, international donors, such as the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), shifted their funding programs from the Taliban-controlled public school system to private community-based education schools (CBEs) and distance learning initiatives. The shift sought to ensure that education funding would be “effective” and “without providing direct support to the Taliban authorities.” Since August 2021, the U.S. State Department and the USAID have supported Afghanistan’s education sector through six programs at a total cost to date of approximately $185.2 million, including CBEs and private schools, online learning, and scholarships for girls and women. As of January 2023, CBEs had enrolled about 600,000 of Afghanistan’s 10 million students, mostly girls.
However, SIGAR findings show that the Taliban are benefiting from these programs by establishing fraudulent or Taliban-friendly organizations to receive U.S. and other donor funding—creating over 100 new NGOs in the first quarter of 2022 alone. The Taliban “use the NGOs they control to create CBEs, apply for international donor funding, and then employ their families and fellow Taliban officials.” Between February and May 2022, $49.6 million from international funding assistance was allocated to directly pay 99% of the identified 192,979 eligible CBE teachers as well as public school teachers, whose salaries the Taliban were not able to pay. Nonetheless, the SIGAR report reveals that the Taliban replaced some public school teachers with Taliban personnel to receive these one-time salary payments—although the exact extent is not specified.
Moreover, SIGAR reveals that the Taliban generates tax revenues from the U.S. State Department and USAID-education-funded programs. They levy personal income taxes on locals employed in such programs and sales tax revenue from goods purchased from landlords, contractors, and vendors. Using coercion and extortion, the Taliban also target and extort money from local teachers and students who receive international donor cash assistance. In addition, U.S. implementing partners, including UN agencies, also pay utility bills, such as water and electricity which, according to SIGAR assessment, contribute to the Taliban-controlled government treasury.
SIGAR’s report indicates that corruption remains one of the most challenging problems affecting aid delivery assistance in the education sector. SIGAR notes that while the U.S. State Department, USAID, and their implementing partners prevent funds from directly benefiting the Taliban, the Taliban are “influencing who NGOs hire and where they work.” One NGO official told SIGAR that they were “required to use a list of beneficiaries provided by the Taliban and were told by the Taliban that the NGO could not distribute any aid if the individuals on the Taliban’s list did not also receive aid.” Additionally, the authorities pressure NGOs to purchase items from Taliban-owned companies, demand these NGOs hire Taliban officials or those loyal to them, and require them to falsify reports on programming efforts to continue funding. Efforts to curb corruption have been impeded due to the Taliban’s retribution and punishment.
Concern’s over the Taliban’s role in distributing humanitarian aid and benefiting from it have been raised before, including by SIGAR. Critics believe that the Taliban steer humanitarian aid toward their own members and constituencies based on political affiliation and ethno-religious divides. Proponents of the current approach argue that given the scale of the economic and humanitarian crisis, it would be nearly impossible to help the people without accepting that some parts of the funding would end up in the Taliban pockets. The question remains how much of such inadvertent waste should be acceptable?
