By 2006, over 4 million male and female students were enrolled in schools throughout Afghanistan. At the same time school facilities or institutions were also being improved, with more modern-style schools being built each year.
However, there are still significant obstacles to education in Afghanistan, many of which stem from a lack of funding. Planning curricula and school programs is difficult for the Ministry of Education because a significant amount of the budget for education comes from varying external donors each year, making it difficult to predict what the annual budget will be.[2] The obstacles to education are even more numerous for Afghan girls. Afghanistan's Education Minister, Hanif Atmar, said in 2007 that 60% of students were studying in tents or other unprotected structures, and some Afghan parents refused to let their daughters attend schools in such conditions.[2] A lack of women teachers is another issue that concerns some Afghan parents, especially in more conservative areas. Some parents will not allow their daughters to be taught by men. But this often means that girls are not allowed to attend school, as the international aid agency Oxfam reported in 2007 that at that time only about one quarter of Afghan teachers were women.[2] In 2009, another concern is the destruction of schools, especially girls' schools, by the Taliban. Following the destruction of over 150 schools in a year, many parents have doubts about the government's ability to protect them.[3]
