Returning to school after a long absence can be harder than entering a classroom for the first time. Other students may already know the lessons, the routines, and one another. A returning child may struggle to read a passage that classmates find easy or feel embarrassed about being older than everyone else. Before learning can begin again, that child needs to feel welcome.
For Afghan children, interrupted education can have many causes. A family may have moved because of conflict, lost its income, or returned from another country. A child may have worked instead of attending school or lived too far from a classroom. Girls face additional barriers because of restrictions on their education. These experiences differ, but they share a consequence: children lose opportunities to develop skills through regular teaching and practice.
Helping them return requires more than enrollment. Schools must understand what children already know, address the reasons they left, and provide teaching that allows them to catch up. Afghanistan needs an approach that connects education with family support and children’s emotional well-being.
The scale of the challenge is serious. In their 2025 education assessment, UNICEF and UNESCO reported that more than 2.13 million primary-school-age children were out of school in Afghanistan in 2024. They also warned that many children attending school were learning too little. These findings show that access and teaching quality must improve together. unicef.org
A useful starting point is to listen to children and their families. Two students with the same length of absence may need very different support. One may read confidently but struggle with mathematics. Another may understand lessons spoken aloud but have difficulty writing. A third may have studied in a different language before returning to Afghanistan.
Schools could use brief, low-pressure activities to understand these differences. A teacher might ask a child to read a short passage, write a few sentences, or solve practical number problems. These activities should guide teaching rather than become an entrance examination that excludes weaker learners. The aim is to find a suitable starting point.
Age also deserves careful attention. Placing an older child among much younger pupils without additional support may cause embarrassment and discourage attendance. However, placing the child in an age-matched class without checking basic skills can leave them unable to follow lessons. Schools need flexible arrangements that respect both learning level and maturity.
Accelerated education offers one possible route. UNHCR describes these programs as flexible, age-appropriate learning for disadvantaged children and young people who are older than the usual school age and have missed education. They aim to provide essential learning within a shorter period, using approaches suited to the learners. UNHCR US
For Afghanistan, such programs would need clear links with recognized education. Families should know what children will learn, how progress will be assessed, and where they can study afterward. A course that ends without a route forward may leave students facing another interruption. Organizers should agree on progression arrangements before asking families to commit their time.
Teaching should concentrate first on foundations. Children who cannot read basic instructions will struggle across subjects, even when they understand the ideas being taught. Regular reading practice, simple writing tasks, and practical mathematics would help rebuild confidence. Lessons could use familiar situations, such as measuring a room, reading a notice, or calculating the cost of household items.
Teachers should avoid rushing through missed textbooks merely to claim that students have caught up. A smaller amount of learning understood well is more useful than many chapters copied without understanding. Short checks during lessons could show whether students are ready to continue or need another explanation.
The classroom environment will influence whether children ask for that explanation. A student who expects ridicule may hide confusion. A teacher who responds calmly to mistakes gives children a chance to show what they do not understand. Pair work, practice exercises, and private feedback can make participation less frightening.
Some returning children may also carry distress from difficult experiences. Teachers should respond with patience without assuming that every quiet or restless child has a mental health condition. Changes in behavior can have many causes, including hunger, tiredness, unfamiliar lessons, or problems outside school.
Schools could establish predictable routines and identify a trusted adult whom children can approach. Teachers should know when a concern requires help from a qualified professional or a child-protection service, where these are available. Children should never be pressured to describe painful experiences in front of classmates.
Teachers themselves need support to carry out this work. A crowded classroom containing several learning levels can be difficult to manage. Training should offer methods that teachers can use immediately: organizing small groups, explaining a concept in different ways, and checking understanding without preparing lengthy examinations.
Ongoing advice would be more useful than a single workshop. Teachers could meet regularly to discuss a lesson that failed, compare student work, and exchange successful activities. School leaders should make time for these discussions and ensure that teachers receive the basic materials needed to teach.
Distance remains another barrier. For a family living far from a school, daily travel can be expensive, tiring, or unsafe. Community-based classes may reduce the distance between children and learning, provided that they have trained teachers, suitable spaces, and regular supervision.
UNICEF’s year-end report for 2025 stated that education opportunities reached 442,000 out-of-school children through approximately 14,000 community-based classes in Afghanistan. This provides evidence that community-based education already operates at a substantial scale. It also offers experience that future efforts can examine and improve. UNICEF Afghanistan
A nearby classroom still needs acceptable conditions. Children require drinking water, usable toilets, protection from severe weather, and a space where they can hear the teacher. Learners with disabilities may need accessible entrances, appropriate seating, adapted materials, or other support. These needs should be considered when selecting a location.
Community involvement could help identify practical problems early. Parents may know that a route becomes difficult in winter or that a proposed timetable conflicts with essential household responsibilities. Consultation should lead to changes where possible. Families will be more willing to remain involved when they see that their concerns receive a response.
Poverty requires particular attention because the cost of schooling extends beyond fees. Families may need notebooks, clothing, transport, or the income a child would otherwise earn. A parent can value education and still struggle to manage these costs.
Targeted assistance could help remove some of this pressure. Depending on local needs and available resources, support might include school supplies, meals, transport assistance, or carefully managed financial help. Decisions should use clear criteria so that families understand who qualifies and can question errors.
Flexible schedules may help some children return, but they should be designed to reduce barriers while protecting time for learning, rest, and play. Schools and support organizations should work with families toward reducing harmful child labor. Children should not be expected to carry adult financial responsibilities indefinitely.
Girls’ education requires direct action beyond classroom improvements. Restrictions that prevent girls from continuing their studies must be removed. In its August 2025 reporting, UNESCO described Afghanistan’s exclusion of girls and women from secondary and higher education. Teaching materials or short courses cannot provide an equal replacement for full access to recognized schooling. www.unesco.org
Meanwhile, educational support should preserve learning wherever safely possible and avoid exposing students or teachers to unnecessary risks. Programs should protect personal information and consult the people affected. Female teachers also need opportunities to train and work, so that girls can learn from qualified educators and see possible futures for themselves.
Technology can contribute, although it should fit the learner’s circumstances. A course that requires constant internet access may exclude a child using a shared phone or living with unreliable electricity. Printed learning packs, short audio lessons, and downloadable materials may be more practical in some settings.
These materials work best with feedback. A child can complete exercises repeatedly while making the same mistake. Regular contact with a teacher, whether in person or through a suitable communication channel, would allow questions and correction. Digital tools should support a teaching relationship rather than become the only help offered.
Progress should be measured carefully. Enrollment figures show how many children entered a program, but schools also need to know who attends regularly, what students learn, and who leaves. A child missing several days should prompt a respectful inquiry, not immediate punishment.
Families may reveal a problem that the school can address, such as bullying, missing supplies, or difficulty understanding lessons. Some problems will require support beyond the school. Keeping records and coordinating with relevant services could prevent children from disappearing from education without anyone noticing.
Funding should reflect this continuing responsibility. A classroom opened for a few months and then closed because teacher salaries were not secured creates another break in learning. Programs need realistic budgets for teaching, materials, supervision, and the transition to further education.
Conclusion
Helping Afghan children return to learning means giving them a fair place to begin again. Schools should assess their needs gently, teach essential skills carefully, and provide routes into recognized education. Families need practical help with the barriers that keep children away, while teachers need training and continuing support.
The next steps should be specific: identify children who have missed school, offer suitable catch-up classes, reduce attendance costs, and check whether students are learning and staying. Girls must have equal access to continue their education. A successful return will be visible when children can understand their lessons, ask questions without fear, and move forward without another preventable interruption.
Author’s Name: Monawar Nabizada
References
UNHCR. (n.d.). Accelerated education.
https://www.unhcr.org/us/what-we-do/build-better-futures/education/primary-and-youth-education/accelerated-education
UNICEF. (2025). Afghanistan’s education system facing deepening crisis for both girls and boys, warn UNICEF and UNESCO.
https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/press-releases/afghanistans-education-system-facing-deepening-crisis-both-girls-and-boys-warn
UNICEF. (n.d.). Afghanistan humanitarian situation report: 1 January–31 December 2025.
https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/documents/unicef-afghanistan-humanitarian-situation-report-1-january-31-december-2025
UNESCO. (2025, August 14). Afghanistan: Four years on, 2.2 million girls still banned from school.
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/afghanistan-four-years-22-million-girls-still-banned-school